Blog For Noob Random thought of a Noob Blogger
It seems that in recent years first responders have had to take on more than their share of the challenges the world faces. From a relentless pandemic to irregular weather patterns, first responders have constantly been on their toes. Have you ever wondered how they manage to communicate in and respond to rapidly-evolving situations?
In addition to mental health resources, first responders also put technology to use to ensure their work is as safe and effective as possible. Here, we explore a few different technologies that enable first responders to manage a crisis.
Drone Technology
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are a powerful piece of technology that first responders use when they need to observe far-flung areas, or gather information from unsafe zones. Drones help first responders gather intelligence and navigate through extreme environments without putting a human being in harm’s way. Drones also help teams in different locations access the same information by logging on to a website. When precise communication is key, drones help first responders stay on top of a situation. First responders are trained to operate these drones that can be used in different scenarios ranging from crowd monitoring at public events to finding missing hikers.
High-Speed, Robust Routers
Think of how you use the internet every day — mostly for entertainment, news, gathering information and other such things. First responders, however, need to be connected to high-speed, reliable internet that gives them access to navigation and mapping data, or satellite and street views of areas they need to get to. When every minute is precious, first responders need to be armed with devices that provide not only fast connection, but also a secure network. Devices such as the Cradlepoint IBR900 routers offer a safe and reliable way for teams to transmit information and react to a situation. Strong routers, such as the Cradlepoint router, are also designed to be hardy enough to weather different environments that include wind, water, dust, storm, and constant mobility that first responders operate under.
Virtual Reality
It may come as a surprise but first responder teams from police, to fire and EMS departments have been using virtual reality to train recruits for a while now. This powerful technology can simulate an environment and helps teams train for real-life situations in a safe environment. The lifelike scenes that can be experienced via virtual reality help a trainee not only learn hard skills that will help them respond to an emergency, but also helps them develop critical thinking skills that are as important in any high-stress situation. In addition, compared to traditional forms of training, virtual reality is also more cost-effective and easier to implement.
As the world evolves rapidly and technology penetrates every aspect of our lives, it has become common to view technology through a lens of good and bad. However, it is important to understand how we can leverage different kinds of technology to mitigate risks and better equip first responders to manage a crisis.
