"Breadcrumb" Hubs Really Are A Firefighter's New Closest Friend [Video]

Andrew Tarantola Firefighting is harmful enough without your two-way radio failing behind flattened walls or perhaps in smoke-filled structures. This is exactly why the DoD is promoting the a brand new disposable router system, named WISPER, that could eventually replace traditional radios.

Designed about the ZiggBee protocol, each WISPER (Wireless Intelligent Sensor Platform for Emergency Responders) unit includes a single, inch-square waterproof and warmth-resistant router that contains a built-in two-way digital radio, antenna, and three-volt energy source. Produced by Oceanit Labs and also the College of Virginia, WISPER hubs are created to be dropped as position markers, like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs, from waterproof dispenser as firefighters undertake a building. These hubs together form a mesh network that instantly reconfigures itself if your router is moved or destroyed, "if your WISPER note is broken, the network reheals or repairs itself in tangible-time for you to maintain communication," one Oceanit representative revealed.

However the WISPER does not only be used as a walkie-talkie. This technique also includes two other cutting-edge systems: the Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders (PHASER), which monitors body's temperature, bloodstream pressure, and pulse, notifying fellow firefighters to some comrade at risk, and also the Geospatial Location Accountability and Navigation System for Emergency Responders (GLANSER) system that functions being an integrated radio/battery/navigation device. [via FastCoDesign]

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