DRS’ ARMOR Rugged Mobile Solutions To Help FDNY Better Respond To Emergencies And Manage Medical Information

FDNY determined the DRS solution best supports mission-critical tasks that require connectivity

DRS Technologies, Inc., A Finmeccanica Company, announced recently that the Fire Department, City of New York (FDNY) will be using ARMOR™ Rugged Mobile Solutions to better respond to emergencies and manage medical information gathered at the scene. FDNY has placed an order with the award-winning leader in the public safety industry for systems, including rugged tablet computers, accessories, installation services and communication equipment. DRS and its partners were selected after months of pilot testing where FDNY determined the DRS solution best supports mission-critical tasks that require connectivity, mobility, ease of use, and the durability to support all-weather operations.

“Public safety needs reliable equipment and technology to assist in patient care. We’re excited to partner with one of the premier fire and EMS providers in the world, and enable its personnel to efficiently service citizens in need of medical care and protect critical data under all operating conditions and weather,” said Mike Sarrica, president of DRS Network & Imaging Systems (NIS) division.

FDNY is one of the largest combined fire and EMS providers in the world. Exposure to water, heat and other elements are daily occurrences that can compromise the delivery of vital information between hospitals and the Department’s first responders to fires, public safety and medical emergencies, and other disasters. Equipped with the ARMOR™ X10gx Rugged Tablet and the Edge Velocity® Datapath Optimiser (EVDO) router, FDNY will be able to protect and deliver data quickly and efficiently by providing a two-way channel between the hospital and first responders on the scene. The solution also manages electronic patient care reporting (EPCR) information and enables medical data and guidance to flow from the hospital back to the scene.

The ARMOR™ X10gx is certified to MIL-STD-810G for extremes in temperature, vibration, shock and drops, and carries an ingress protection (IP) rating of 65, which means it is fully protected against dust and water from all directions. It features connectivity capabilities including Gobi™ Wireless Broadband, Bluetooth® wireless, integrated GPS, and 802.11 a/g/n WiFi. The ARMOR™ X10gx employs an advanced lightweight magnesium alloy chassis and features a sunlight-readable touch-screen display. Other features include a docking system, an Intel® Processor with up to 4GB RAM, and a user-replaceable solid-state hard drive.

The FDNY EPCR program uses the Edge Velocity EVDO router to create robust, secure mobile Wi-Fi hot spots. For this application, Edge Velocity customised its Edge Interlock® software to enable the EVDO to support the unique operational requirements of the FDNY EPCR program. With these architectural changes in place, 100% of the configuration changes required to support the FDNY EPCR program was made directly from the Edge Interlock graphical user interface. These changes have enabled the EVDO routers to provide reliable services even in highly signal-saturated environments.