Pittsfield, NH, August 30, 2010 – Globe Manufacturing Company, LLC, today announced that it is teaming up with Zephyr Technology Corporation and TRX Systems, Inc. to develop and build an integrated body-worn electronics system for firefighters and first responders.
“Globe has been engaged in multiple university and government research and development projects since 2006 with the goal of fielding a useful tool to help firefighters and first responders address the questions “Where am I” and “How am I”, said Mark Mordecai, Director of Business Development for Globe. “We are excited to join together with two “best of breed” technology platform providers to transition years of research and development into a practical product that can make a significant difference in safety.” The system is expected to be immediately useful for Workplace Assessment, Training, Rehab, Incident Command, HazMat, SWAT, and RIT operations with other operational uses to be informed by actual field experience, ongoing physiological research, and normative data collection.
Zephyr Technology delivers real-time Physiological Status Monitoring solutions including sensors, wireless transmission, and remote displays and analysis. Globe will be incorporating this technology into base-layer shirts that would be flame-resistant, moisture wicking, and comfortable to wear throughout a 24 hour shift in place of a cotton T-shirt. TRX Systems delivers infrastructurefree location and tracking for personnel in areas where reliable GPS is unavailable using a bodyworn tracking unit and a mobile command station. Globe will be integrating this technology into turnout gear so that the firefighter can just suit up and go.
The Globe body-worn electronics system will integrate both technologies by using a common short-range transmission protocol, a data channel available on most currently installed and new communications radios, and a unified graphical user interface for monitoring both physiology and location/tracking. The system will feature an open architecture so that other sensor-based technologies can be integrated in the future.
Beta field-testing of the new Globe system will start in early 2011 with commercial deployment slated for early 2012.
