DHS exercise to assess first responder technology

As a means of assessing new first responder technology solutions, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is hosting an initiative that evaluates innovations.

S&T officials said the agency had released a Request for Information (RFI) for participation in the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) – Birmingham Shaken Fury Operational Experimentation (OpEx), which is slated for the week of Aug. 5, 2019, in Birmingham, Ala.

The OpEx will integrate first responder technologies to enhance the mission-response capabilities of Birmingham-area responders and regional partners before the city hosting the anticipated World Games 2021. The RFI is open to industry, academia, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, government agencies, and other organizations with innovative first responder technology solutions ready for testing and evaluation.

The deadline for submitting applications is Feb. 28, 2019.

“First responders across the nation rely heavily on the technology they use to respond to emergencies,” said William N. Bryan, DHS senior official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “To fulfill their mission, their technology must be innovative and interoperable and exercises like this OpEx help us to evaluate the latest innovations to meet mission requirements.”

S&T is specifically seeking technologies providing on-body, incident area, agency-wide or cross-jurisdictional capabilities that make responders better protected, connected and fully aware.