PacketHop Introduces Industry's First Infrastructure-Free, Real-Time Multimedia Communication System for Police, Fire and Public Safety Departments.DENVER -- PacketHop(TM) Communication System Provides Mission-Critical Wireless Broadband High-speed wireless transmission of data. What is "high" speed is always a changing number. Wireless systems are typically slower than land-based, wireline networks. In the past, wireless broadband started at 250 Kbps, whereas land-based broadband was generally considered to start at T1 Incident Area Networks and Multimedia Applications Whenever Needed by First Responders first responder First response personnel Emergency medicine A person employed in the public sector–EMT, fire fighter, police, volunteer EMS–whose duties include provision of immediate medical care in the event of an emergency; FRs have basic emergencyPacketHop(TM), Inc., the leader in mobile mesh networking Mobile mesh networking is a way to implement wireless networks using mesh routing protocols. Mobile Mesh devices have the capability of receiving and routing data. Data packets will be transmitted from device to device using several hops. software and multimedia applications for instant wireless group communication, today announced the industry's first solution designed to instantly interconnect (1) To attach one device to another. (2) A physical port (plug, socket) or wireless port (transmitter, receiver) used to attach one device to another. police, fire and other public safety departments' communications at the scene of an emergency. The PacketHop Communication System consists of the TrueMesh mobile mesh networking software and the Aware(TM) for Public Safety suite of multimedia applications. The system enables instant and secure mobile broadband Description Mobile Broadband is a type of wireless internet access that differs from Wi-Fi. Mobile Broadband is the name used to describe the 3G services which are made possible by HSDPA and HSUPA, the latest technologies on the W-CDMA evolutionary path. networks anywhere, with or without any infrastructure present. In addition, the Aware for Public Safety multimedia application suite delivers mission-critical information to first responders in the field. Using PacketHop's breakthrough technology, police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel can view and share real-time multicast video by attaching cameras to their mobile devices and streaming live video to all users on the network. Other important functionality includes multimedia instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or , whiteboarding and resource location tracking on localized electronic maps. The PacketHop Communication System works with readily available off-the-shelf devices with Wi-Fi capabilities, giving users the freedom to select best-of-breed mobile devices rather than commit to a single, proprietary line of products. Additionally, the PacketHop Communication System is proven in the field, having been successfully demonstrated by law enforcement departments along with thirteen federal, state and local public safety agencies comprising the Golden Gate Safety Network at San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate Bridge, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco to Marin Co., W Calif.; built 1933–37. Its overall length is 9,266 ft (2,824 m); its main span across the strait, 4,200 ft (1,280 m), is one of the longest bridges in the world. Joseph B. . The PacketHop Communication System will be available for general distribution in September 2005. "We are proud to be empowering public safety agencies with the ability to instantly communicate anywhere and anytime, whenever and wherever needed, and to do so quickly and cost-effectively by introducing our standards-based, infrastructure-free wireless mesh networking (1) A network that relies on all nodes to propagate signals. Although the wireless signal may start at some base station (access point) attached to a wired network, a wireless mesh network extends the transmission distance by relaying the signal from one computer to another. solution," said Michael Howse, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of PacketHop. "PacketHop is committed to providing reliable and secure communications so law enforcement and other public safety personnel can perform their duties more safely and efficiently." After 9/11, police, fire, and other state and government public safety organizations began re-thinking the capabilities of their communications infrastructure. As demonstrated in the recent London bombings, voice traffic can easily flood conventional wireless networks during a major emergency, which may slow the network to a crawl To search the Internet for hosts, Web pages or blogs. See crawler. or bring it down completely. Reliance on fixed infrastructure and the absence of inter-agency connections can leave wireless networks vulnerable to miscommunication mis·com·mu·ni·ca·tion n. 1. Lack of clear or adequate communication. 2. An unclear or inadequate communication. or even total system failure. The federal government has allocated $10.9 billion to date for first responder agencies to improve their equipment and training as part of the Department of Homeland Security's grants initiatives. "Police, fire and other public safety agencies are investing in new technologies that will strengthen their communications systems In telecommunication, a communications system is a collection of individual communications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and data terminal equipment (DTE) usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole. ," said Jeff Vining Vining is the name of several places in the United States:
A "fully meshed" network means that every node has a direct connection to every other node, which is a very elaborate and expensive architecture. will provide law enforcement with media-rich information, enabling them to do their jobs more efficiently and safely." The PacketHop Communication System fundamentally changes the wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. environment by offering high performance, reliability and the freedom to work with or without fixed infrastructure. Its innovative mobile mesh networking software easily loads onto any standards-based laptop, tablet and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). , enabling every device to send, receive and route data and to instantly form an extended Wi-Fi hot-zone on the fly which can operate with or without wireless access points -- known as an autonomous mobile mesh network. The network grows and becomes more resilient as additional users arrive, with no practical limit on the geography, number of users or variety of agencies; the network adjusts itself as users enter, move about and depart the area. PacketHop's solution is applicable to numerous scenarios common in all jurisdictions across the country, including tactical assault and containment, investigative surveillance and large scale, multi-agency incidents. Law enforcement personnel will be able to instantly set up mobile broadband incident area networks wherever they are required, creating a secure, mission-critical network at single and multi-agency incidents both large and small. This new capability bolsters efficiencies in response time and increases first responder personnel safety. PacketHop's Aware for Public Safety situational awareness Situation awareness or situational awareness [1] (SA) is the mental representation and understanding of objects, events, people, system states, interactions, environmental conditions, and other situation-specific factors affecting human performance in application suite operates without a network-based server and seamlessly integrates multimedia capabilities -- including real-time multicast video, resource location tracking, multimedia instant messaging and whiteboarding. These applications expand the ways public safety agencies and first responders communicate by enabling them to instantly share media-rich, mission-critical video and data whenever and wherever they need it. Real-Time Multicast Video Real-time multicast video enables users to simultaneously stream live video to all users on the network. During emergencies, first responders can attach a video or still camera to their mobile devices and transmit exactly what they're seeing over the wireless network. Rather than describing what they're seeing via the radio, real-time multicast video enables scene commanders to make critical decisions based on direct observations, not second-hand descriptions. GPS Resource Tracking GPS resource tracking enables users to be located in real-time on a high-resolution map or image that can be simultaneously shared by all users on the network. Scene commanders can be better informed as to the position of their colleagues and other critical assets at an incident area. Whiteboarding Whiteboarding enables users to "mark up" a captured video image, map or photo and simultaneously share it with one or all users on the network. Scene commanders can clearly mark the location of an emergency or suspect, reposition first responders in the field or decide where a perimeter needs to be established -- silently and discreetly. Similar to how a football coach draws up a play on a whiteboard The electronic equivalent of chalk and blackboard, but between remote users. Whiteboard systems allow network participants to simultaneously view one or more users drawing on an on-screen blackboard or running an application. , a scene commander can easily convey tactical information to other first responders and collaborate on a course of action. Multimedia Instant Messaging Multimedia instant messaging enables users to communicate not only via text-based instant messages, but to also share files in a variety of formats -- including diagrams, still digital photographs and selected video frames. PacketHop's software also includes quick phrases such as BOLO ("be on look out") which users can customize to match their particular jargon and relieve the burden on voice radio channels. Additionally, PacketHop provides complete IT management software that allows an administrator to securely configure See configuration. (software) configure - A program by Richard Stallman to discover properties of the current platform and to set up make to compile and install gcc. Cygnus configure was a similar system developed by K. authorized users authorized user Radiation physics A person who, having satisfied the applicable training and experience requirements, is granted authority to order radioactive material and accepts responsibility for its safe receipt, storage, use, transfer and disposal ; this ensures that only users with permission to send or receive information can do so. "PacketHop's technology enables police officers to better serve the community by providing wireless access to mission-critical multimedia content such as real-time video streams or resource tracking," states Chief Craig Steckler of the Fremont Police Department. "PacketHop can help public safety agencies save money by avoiding costly infrastructure deployments while enabling us to safely and efficiently conduct frequently occurring aspects of our job such as investigative surveillance, tactical assault and containment and multi-agency incidents." About PacketHop PacketHop, Inc. develops mobile mesh networking software and multimedia applications which enable instant wireless group communication for commercial enterprises, government organizations and consumer markets. PacketHop Communication System software enables 802.11 standards-based devices to create extended Wi-Fi hot-zones on the fly -- known as autonomous mobile mesh networks -- which can securely operate with or without wireless access points. By making infrastructure completely optional, PacketHop delivers coverage whenever and wherever instant wireless broadband communication is needed -- with greater resiliency, reliability and robustness than any other comparable technology. Along with the company's device agnostic ag·nos·tic n. 1. a. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. b. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism. 2. mobile mesh networking solution that facilitates rapid and cost-effective deployments, PacketHop offers the Aware(TM) for Public Safety multimedia application with capabilities such as real-time multicast video, resource tracking, instant messaging and whiteboarding. Founded in 2003 and based in Silicon Valley, Calif., PacketHop is funded by venture firms U.S. Venture Partners, Mayfield, ComVentures and GF Equity Partners, as well as SRI International (company) SRI International - One of the world's largest contract research firms. Founded in 1946 in conjuction with Stanford University as the Stanford Research Institute, they later became fully independent and were incorporated as a non-profit organisation under U.S. . For more information on PacketHop, please visit www.packethop.com. PacketHop Aware and PacketHop Communication System are trademarks of PacketHop, Inc. The names of other companies and their products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. |
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