We’re happy to see that Dr. Reginald Brothers, Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has taken an interest in SensorUp’s work on interoperability! Dr. Brothers recently wrote a blog post underscoring the importance of IoT interoperability — especially when it comes to the safety of first responders in the field. Dr. Brother recognized the problems with siloed sensing systems:
Currently, responders use a collection of propriety products that are not compatible with each other leaving gaps in gathering key on-scene information. We want to change that.
Dr. Brothers went on to describe some of the work being done around interoperability, and what has been made possible:
Using a simulated building explosion as our backdrop, we showed what’s possible when technology is interoperable. Unmanned aerial systems can look at a building structure before responders go in. Body cameras can inform on-scene commanders of the situation both during and after an event. Physiological and environmental sensors can gauge possible threats and hazards to responders and their health status—think about the air quality following an incident or gas that could have caused the incident. The quicker we are alerting responders, the better.
SensorUp worked with partners as well as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the US Department of Homeland Security to construct an Emergency and Disaster Management common operating picture. The joint project, involved creating an incident management information sharing system that used OGC standards, including OGC SensorThings API to combine diverse sensor types, measuring all kinds of events and conditions in the situation, and owned or manufactured by disparate parties.