In 2014, DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers announced that he wanted to reinvigorate federal government research and development. A large part of his strategy is to engage the entrepreneurial world.
At S&T, we are working with innovators – startups, small businesses, larger companies and other partners in the research and development world. This work is laying the foundation for how the Homeland Security Enterprise tackles difficult challenges.
And we heard from you—our partners, customers, and operators—through conferences, roundtables, the National Conversation, and other outreach events about how we can tap into the innovation ecosystem even better. How there are unique and cutting-edge solutions for homeland security that S&T can help transition from the development cycle to commercialization.
One of the key programs for us this year, is S&T's business accelerator pilot, called the EMERGE Accelerator Program for Wearable Tech for First Responders. We are continuing EMERGE and looking for a second round on wearable technology for first responders.
EMERGE 2016: Wearable Technology Accelerator Program
S&T is engaging with the startup community to bring wearable technologies to first responders. Building on the success of its EMERGE Accelerator Pilot last year, S&T continues to mobilize innovators to help first responders whose difficult and grueling job requires them to carry outdated and heavy equipment.
With EMERGE 2016: Wearable Technology, we want to enable today’s firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians to communicate seamlessly with fellow responders, to survey a scene in advance, and to track their health status as they put themselves in harm’s way.
The application for EMERGE closed on Friday, September 2, 2016. We received an overwhelming response and with our partners, evaluated over 260 startups and worked with over 200 accelerators, incubators, and university partners across 149 cities. We selected 10 startups to be part of the EMERGE 2016: Wearable Technology.
The 10 startups will be part of the program and engage with first responders, strategic industry partners, and investors. In addition, the startups are a first-rate education in business development from mentors around the business world, early market validation, test and evaluation opportunities, and a path to introduce their technologies to a variety of markets, including government sector partners.
The selected startups are:
Augmate, New York, New York, developed a provisioning and management platform for wearable devices that helps IT departments track users and their devices, collect sensor data, communicate with workers, and control approved applications and situational connectivity.
CommandWear Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, developed a software platform that integrates location and biometrics data from devices to provide personnel tracking, two-way text communication and video sharing to facilitate planning, mission execution, and review operations among teams.
HAAS Alert, Chicago, Illinois / Detroit, Michigan, has a mobile vehicle-to-vehicle communication platform that uses acoustic sensors to pick up environmental and situational noise, and location data to connect people, vehicles, and things in cities, streamlining the disaster and emergency notification process to keep communities safe.
Human Systems Integration, Boston, Massachusetts, developed an integrated system that includes remote physiological monitoring. The system provide a plug and play wearable situational awareness and communications platform.
Lumenus, Los Angeles, California, created smart clothing that uses LED lighting and connectivity to improve visibility of consumers and industrial workers.
LuminAID, Chicago, Illinois, created durable, low cost, and low profile inflatable solar lamps that can be stored efficiently and easily deployed.
Pear Sports, Los Angeles, California, has a coaching and training application that uses biometric signals like heart rate, VO2 max, location, and environmental data to build training programs that improve the long-term health of users.
Six15 Technologies, Henrietta, New York, produced rugged wearable devices for military and industrial use that stream video and display data using augmented reality overlays for better situational awareness.
Vault RMS, San Diego, California, created a software platform that leverages biometric and situational data from wearable devices and other inputs to build a long-term health profile of workers exposed to health-compromising environments, driving improvements in health, safety, and overall worker productivity.
Visual Semantics, Austin, Texas, created software that integrates with cloud-enabled wearable cameras and heads up displays to provide real-time facial recognition and alerts to help first responders more intelligently assess and react to situations in the field.
The program will conclude with opportunities to explore pilot and path-to-market opportunities with the first responder, corporate, and investor communities later this year.
EMERGE 2016: Wearable Technology is a partnership with the Center for Innovative Technology, a nonprofit corporation in Virginia that is a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship; TechNexus, a venture collaborative that works in conjunction with leading corporations and the global entrepreneurial ecosystem; and the U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, whose expertise ranges from energy and the environment to national security issues.