i-Garment's "smart suit" helps disaster relief agents

by Conrad Quilty-Harper, posted Oct 28th 2007 at 4:44PM

Designed to help firefighters communicate independently of unreliable traditional systems such as cellphone networks, i-Garment's "smart suit" does more than just enable voices to be heard. The suit also packs in location and health monitoring, with a whole infrastructure behind it including multiple stages from the field vehicle back to HQ. The European Space Agency recently approved the suit after a series of tests including firefighting scenarios: it's not currently planned for the US, but it wouldn't be surprising to see this or a similar system over here sometime soon.

[Thanks, Michelle. Via InventorSpot]

Filed under: Wearables

Tags: Firefighter, Firefighting, i-garment

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highly Ranked

bob @ Oct 28th 2007 4:59PM

Snooze... without cloaking and super-human strength like the nano-suit in Crysis, I'll pass...

Neutral

Spyvie @ Oct 28th 2007 5:07PM

That's what I was gunna say... though super speed is working best for me in the demo.

Neutral

d00d @ Oct 29th 2007 4:53PM

Ya, but does it come with a Mjolnir Mark V helmet and overshield capabilities?

Neutral

Ray @ Oct 28th 2007 5:01PM

hahahah what an awesome site. one post about a smart suit and the next about gamestop's product replacement plan

Neutral

Dylan K @ Oct 28th 2007 5:25PM

MAXIMUM COMMUNICATION

Neutral

JooBlixlarz @ Oct 28th 2007 6:41PM

"health monitoring..."

"warning: your hp is below 30. please exit the building as fast as possible to prevent permanent disabilities such as death."

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Michael @ Oct 28th 2007 8:41PM

Everyone watch out, Gordon Freeman is running around naked somewhere... they took his HEV Suit!

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Michael @ Oct 28th 2007 8:41PM

Everyone watch out, Gordon Freeman is running around naked somewhere. They took his HEV Suit!

Neutral

Andrew Pollack @ Oct 28th 2007 9:05PM

I am a firefighter in the US. Our "Traditional" bunker gear costs more than 1500 per person already. For a few hundred dollars, each of us can also have a radio. Fire gear has to be washed regularly (the soot from household fires has some nasty stuff in it) and tends to wear out in a few years. It also weighs a good bit. By the time I make entry and crawl into a building on hands and knees, fully encapsulated, breathing bottled air, carrying a tool and maybe dragging a line -- I've got 70+ pounds plus my 200. Its either pitch dark or thick white steam fog and smoke, and its several hundred degrees. The idea of carrying more junk with me that will increase the cost and complexity of that gear doesn't appeal at all.

:-)

Neutral

BigBirdUK @ Oct 28th 2007 9:48PM

What a load of gumph. Your suit, radio, BA apparatus and tools would have all been unheard of 50+ years ago but that's what the march of APPLICABLE technology does. Have some patience and wait for it to become more applicable in a high haz environment.

Neutral

Andrew Pollack @ Oct 28th 2007 10:07PM

Just because technology is new, doesn't mean it is good. Before you assume that I'm some kind of knuckle dragging luddite firefighter (or a truckie), consider that perhaps I'm also a technology developer.
( http://www.secondsignal.com ) The thing is, for technology to be adoptable, it has to be really new, or really better, and it needs to integrate seamlessly and with little or no effort.

This seems to add no value over the radio I carry -- most of which are used for emergencies only, as there shouldn't be radio traffic from more than one person in a particular group or division (assuming you're making the effort toward NIMS compliance). It is, on the other hand, integrated into expensive wearable gear that isn't easily exchanged with others. Presumably, I can't just hang it on a hook or the battery will not stay ready. Is it going to be "intrinsically safe" (won't have any internal sparks at all so it can be used around gas leaks)?

It just begs the question.... WHY?

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