July 25, 2017
During its meeting on June 14, 2017, held in Washington, D.C., the Board of Governors of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation awarded funding to three homeland security projects, selected by DHS and MOPS, between U.S. and Israeli companies to advance technologies for first responders. In addition to the grants from BIRD, the projects will access private sector funding, boosting the total value of the three projects to approximately $7 million.
The program funds technology collaborations between U.S. and Israeli partners that have significant commercial potential to meet the most pressing requirements of first responders. This joint research effort supports the development of Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) technology capabilities that will increase the safety and efficiency of all first responders (law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical services). These research and development efforts will lead to new technologies that ensure first responders are better protected, connected and fully aware.
The BIRD Foundation promotes collaboration between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological fields for the purpose of joint product development. In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.
Projects submitted for consideration are reviewed by representatives of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Israel Innovation Authority and experts from the Israel Ministry of Public Security.
The joint projects that received approval include:
- Beeper Communications Israel (Ramat Gan, Israel) and Mantaro Networks Inc. (Germantown, Maryland) will develop an unmanned search and rescue system.
- Elbit Systems Land and C4I Ltd. (Netanya, Israel) and M87, Inc. (Bellevue, Washington) will develop public safety off-network broadband communications using multi-hop WiFi/LTE/D2D communications (ProSE) technology.
- Simlat, Ltd(Petah-Tikva, Israel) and Sinclair Community College (Dayton, Ohio) will develop an autonomous drone-based search & rescue solution.
Read More: http://www.birdf.com/?CategoryID=427&ArticleID=522