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Start-up to Enhance Communications Among Emergency First-Responders, Prevent Katrina-like Response |
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Manassas, VA – November 13, 2006 – Start-up tech firm Ordia Solutions wants to prevent the kind of miscommunication that led to a failed rescue during Hurricane Katrina last year. The company is using the latest Internet software technologies, known in tech circles as “Web 2.0”, to build a new generation of robust communication and collaboration tools for public safety officers. This technology will result in better communications and enhance the interoperability between multiple jurisdictions and agencies, but most importantly add to public safety. The company recently released to select customers its Emergency Commander System, a web browser-based collaborative mapping environment with drawing tools and symbols designed specifically for emergency management operations.
Company chairman Joe Ordia explains his motivations for tackling this enormous problem: “When I heard what public safety officers were saying about the communications problems during Katrina, how a policeman couldn’t speak to a firefighter one block away because their radios were made by different manufacturers, that was my call to action. It’s a shame that our emergency responders were not enabled to utilize the latest technology.” As a result, Ordia and his team developed technology that enables all emergency responders not only to communicate across agencies with real-time voice, using standards-based voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP), but also to communicate visually, using collaborative drawing and white boarding tools along with digital maps and satellite photography.
The Emergency Commander software makes heavy use of Web 2.0 tools, including Google Maps, AJAX, and XML, to provide a feature rich application that rivals traditional desktop collaboration software blended with digital maps. However, unlike desktop tools like Google Earth, Ordia’s software runs inside a web browser, enabling it to run on mobile wireless information devices mounted inside emergency vehicles. Ordia says the company will make the Emergency Commander system available to customers nationwide before year’s end.
“The idea is that a picture is worth a thousand words. If we can let people share their understanding and intentions visually, in addition to verbal communications, we’ve gone a long way towards increasing their awareness during a crisis situation,” Ordia says.
Ordia Solutions is an advanced technology development and rapid fielding support company serving customers in the local emergency services, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Founded in 2005, the company’s mission is to enable the US military and emergency responders to rapidly exploit the latest emerging information technology. Ordia is a leading provider of advanced collaboration tools and interoperability solutions.
For more information, visit www.ordiasolutions.com .
Media Contact:
Alfred P Toussaint Jr
Nova Technology Partners
(703) 624-8302
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