Swapcom: How Can Mobile Devices Save Lives?

24/01/2007 - 15:41

The European Commission has selected a project called MARIUS which
enables the dissemination to the inhabitants of a stricken zone of SMS
alerts thanks to a helicopter equipped with a mini-mobile network.
Thanks to that technology, the rescue teams will be able to send SMS
even on a zone where the mobile network is off and then will be able
to send information which will facilitate rescues and save more lives.

The "Mobile Autonomous Reactive Information System for Urgency
Situations" or MARIUS is a project aiming at developing a
pre-operational autonomous Command Post which can be deployed very
quickly to manage every type of crisis. Coordinated by EADS, the
project is mostly financed by the European Union. Major industrial and
technological actors will provide their knowledge, among which:
Thales, BAES, Selex, Eurocopter and Swapcom.

The innovation in MARIUS lies in the integration of the following
state-of-the-art elements, customised to fulfil the requirements of a
generic crisis management system for Security:

-- An airbone segment equipped with EO/IR sensor, GSM detection &
location sensor, SMS broadcast capability, a data link to the
ground station and a radio system

-- A mobile crisis management system

-- The ground sensors (cameras) and their specific data link

-- A micro-drone to demonstrate airbone surveillance functions in
case of disaster

-- The deployable wireless communications network

Swapcom, the French mobile software architect has been chosen as
European specialist for information broadcast on telecommunication
network. "Dissemination of alerts and information to the citizens in
case of large emergencies is an essential concern in Europe nowadays"
explains Philippe Chrobocinski, the EADS project manager, "and the
consortium is satisfied with the solution provided by Swapcom, which
allows to demonstrate innovative functions".

The first tests in laboratory were done in December 2006 during
the integration phase and the consortium hopes to test the project on
site (Valencia, Spain) by July 2007.

About Swapcom:

Specialized in server-side mobile architecture, Swapcom
consistently delivers software solutions in line with emerging
technology issues. In August 2006 Sicap, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Swisscom Mobile, acquired Swapcom. The acquisition combines Sicap's
core business of billing solutions, SIM provisioning, USSD services
and POS solutions with Swapcom's MDM server, messaging gateway and
content management solutions.