Where to with wearables?
The need for information
Body sensors on reghters detecting distress, police ofcers receiving information on
smartwatches, and paramedics seeing vital information on smart glasses are just some of
the possibilities offered by wearable technology. Richard Martin reports
on the move is increasingly
being served by wearable
technology. is may be
to monitor the body or
environmental situation of the ocer,
or to transmit vital information to
them. With the speed of the latest
wireless technologies, as well as the
power of miniature processing in the
smallest devices such as smartwatches,
the opportunities for enhancing
operations and ocer safety are
developing quickly.
Limited only by imagination
Ed Parkinson, acting CEO of FirstNet,
says: “When you look at the speed
of innovation in the commercial
markets in areas such as sensors and
smartwatches, we need to be able
to bring these to the public safety
community and adapt and secure them
for our environment and processes.
In the past our user numbers and
fragmentation meant that we did
not have the market size to inuence
the manufacturers and applications
changing from the availability of tech
to the limits of our imagination.”
I asked Parkinson about the need for
an environment in which developers
can bring new solutions to take
advantage of new technologies. “We
are working to create and support the
environment in which developers can
adapt and certify existing applications
for public safety use, and also stimulate
new and smaller organisations to bring
solutions to end-users. I would like
to see universities involved, and even
ocers bringing new applications into
the market.”
e smartwatch is evolving rapidly.
e size of this market, together
with advances in processing and
communications technology, are
bringing new devices to the consumer
with ever greater capabilities. Big
players such as Apple and Samsung
are already in the eld, together with
established suppliers such as FitBit.
Mindful of the possibilities for business
or public safety, manufacturers are
supporting the devices with enterprise
mobility management software
developers. But that is changing now;
with FirstNet we are rapidly expanding
the user base, with 5,250 agencies and
425,000 connections as of January.
When you factor in the global picture
with similar agencies growing in the
UK, Europe, Japan, South Korea
and Australia, we now have a voice
that industry needs to listen to. One
example is the inclusion of Band 14
in the latest Apple iPhone, making it
compatible with our network.”
He adds: “I recently attended the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las
Vegas and talked to vendors showing
emerging technologies that we can
bring into the public safety space.
ink about the possibilities oered by
the latest drone technology, heads-up
displays for reghters, and smart
wearables. In fact, if the driver of a re
truck had a head-up display, they could
be given updated route information to
the incident or changes to the situation
at the reground. If they are driving
through smoke they could be shown an
enhanced visualisation using infrared
or other sensors. e limitations are
30 www.criticalcomms.com March 2019
Airbus Defence & Space
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