Progress 07/01/21 to 02/28/22

Outputs
Target Audience:Our goal is to develop a truly portable real-time multi-sensor array that eliminates the need to send first responder personnel into dangerous and largely unknown hazardous situation by generating real time data and situational/environmental information that will allow them to determine, monitor, and assess the situation without the need for potentially dangerous human intervention. We will provide the incident commander with enough insight/situational awareness to exercise effective command and control of assets engaged, provide a clear picture of analysis to additional responding units, as well as up channel authorities. As well as the ability to remotely deploy additional sensor units/types to a dynamic environment as needed with immediate information flow to the incident commander. The market for global incident management is vast and fluid. In the US alone there are over 50,000 Fire Stations (30K Fire Departments), not including first responders in law enforcement or in the military as well as industrial disaster response teams. Market Segment expansion: It is not likely that the number of Fire Departments in the US will change over the foreseeable future. However, 30,000 departments with 50,000 stations are a solid target market and with continuous upgrades to the Intelipod, replacement sensor pods, and an ever-expanding licensable global data base it will be a growth market. For perspective, a report published by Markets and Markets shows the market for fire protection systems (including sensors) was estimated to be $62.1B in 2021 and due to expand to $84.6B by 2026, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4%. This is the space where the Intelipod sits, albeit with a current primary focus on US firefighting. Just as important, the problem that this market is trying to solve is getting worse. The cost of the wildland fire problem was addressed earlier, and the residential/urban fire problem is also escalating. Between 2010 and 2019 the number of fires stayed relatively flat, but deaths went up by over 24% and property losses increased by 74% to over $14.8B. Improving fire safety/response is a long-term continuous requirement. Our customer is typically the Battalion Chief at the target Fire Department as this person is most likely in control of budgetary decisions. According to our research, most medium to large size fire departments will have a discretionary budget of around $50,000 with requirements above that limit going to the City/County administration for budget approval. However, the Chief will still sign the check. Some larger departments will have a Fire Commissioner that fills this responsibility. However, as with many products, the 'customer' is not a single individual acting in isolation, and the impact/influence of other community elements (influencers, recommenders, municipal governments, and even internal 'saboteurs') need to be part of the sales strategy. There is also potential for direct sales to State/Federal level buyers. There are multiple federal agencies that are potential markets for the Intelipod sensor system, including any agency with wildland fire management responsibilities. The DoD alone has multiple potential uses from wildfire management to base/post security-emergency response, and CBRNE-HAZMAT scenarios. Within DHS the USCG has military and border protection requirements, and clearly for national disaster response FEMA is a major source of funding as well as direct acquisition in support of local emergency services. For western US wildfire operations CALFIRE is not only a procurement decision maker but is the major influencer for other wild land fire services in the western half of the US (and Canada). The First Responder is a segmented market but, the Total Available Market (TAM) with multiple levels of customers is >$4B. This addresses only the US portion of a global market. Changes/Problems:No major changes/problems were encountered throughoutthe duration of this project. The research methodogy accomodated the study and analysis of all communication options and the conclusions were in keeping with the discovered metrics. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The great opportunities exist in the potential for a Phase II effort: A Phase 2 SBIR grant from USDA will allow the Venti team to leverage the results of the Phase I R&D and transition the Intelipod prototype to a production-ready commercial product. The Phase II project will also enable the initiation of our Commercialization Plan. We will expand our team's resources in the software, hardware, manufacturing, and network fields to complete this effort. Specific Phase II required effort based on the results of the Phase I SBIR effort, Venti will focus on the integration of an LTE transmitter into the current SWaP2 of the prototype Intelipod. This will require: Redesign of the electronics board to replace the 900MHz transmitter with the LTE device. Re-writing of the internal software to integrate the new LTE device into the existing sensor network Addition of an external power outlet to permit both ad hoc and pre-positioned deployment of the sensor pods. Integration with a command-and-control common operating picture (COP)system, the proposed Phase II system is the COPERS system developed for government users by the AF Research Laboratory. Modify the tactical level display (tablet, PC, etc.) to display a greatly enlarged sensor constellation How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results of this effort have been distributed to both DoD and Public Safety communities. For DoD through additional SBIR subissions including the conclusions derived from for the Phase I study and Public Safety through presentations and participation at major Fire and Rescue conference(s). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our research has investigated an entire spectrum of solutions for the application of the Intelipod System in the mitigation of wildfires. The options of dynamic and evolving communication architectures will dramatically impact the situational awareness of not only the IC but the entire Fire Fighting effort. A next phase project execution framework/roadmap: The current ballistic design of the pods still appears optimum, however there are no limits on the variations that can be developed for mission specific deployments based on a plastic shell. Redesign of the electronics board to replace the 900Mhz transmitter with the LTE device. Re-writing of the internal software to integrate the new LTE device into the existing sensor network Addition of an external power outlet to permit both ad hoc and pre-positioned deployment of the sensor pods. Integration with a command-and-control COP system, the proposed system is the COPERS system (addressed in Theme 4) Modify the tactical level display (tablet, pc, etc.) to display a greatly enlarged sensor constellation Additional framework tasks: Provide detailed data streams for post event forensics that may allow for the development of standardized CONOPS or modifications to existing TTPs. As Intelipod Systems are deployed and after-action reports filed, potential modifications to our current sensor architecture and pod design can be factored into our next generation of Intelipods. Researching the ideal sampling rate for a given problem or environment to provide expanded life of pods to keep the current battery for SWaP2 considerations as part of our framework for project execution. Sampling rate is the single largest drain on the internal battery life. This rate can be modified for a given event. The current sample rate of 15 cycles per minute provides over 12 hours of sampling.

Publications