November 21, 2016 – Mouser Electronics Inc., together with Easy Aerial Inc. and celebrity engineer Grant Imahara today launched its newest series in the Empowering Innovation Together™ program. The new Project First Responders features a cloud-based drone platform called GlobalARC for autonomous search and rescue. The drone project will be developed in the Mouser Innovation Lab with parts from platinum sponsor TE Connectivity.
Project First Responders seeks to answer some of the biggest problems facing search and rescue drone operations, such as how to coordinate multiple drones at once, from locations anywhere in the world and share information with experts dispersed at various geographic locations. The first video of this series highlights the GlobalARC platform built by Easy Aerial and provides additional details into the opportunities and challenges of drone-based search and rescue.
“With the Empowering Innovation Together program, Mouser looks to push the boundaries of innovation. This new series goes even further by developing technology that may help save lives,” said Glenn Smith, President and CEO of Mouser Electronics.
Mouser partnered with Easy Aerial to develop a GSM-based solution capable of controlling multiple drones while sharing information in real time, using existing cellular infrastructure. The GlobalARC platform will allow drones to be outfitted with a range of sensors that capture important information such as video, heat imaging, chemical detection, and radiation to help first responders determine when disaster sites are safe to enter.
“Drones, with their agility and small size, seem perfect for search and rescue operations. A helicopter can take hours to send out and can cost thousands of dollars per use,” said Grant Imahara. “Search and rescue teams can launch a drone in just minutes, saving critical time in urgent situations. But we have a lot work ahead of us to make drones perform at their peak in search and rescue operations.”
The drone project also features products from Intel®. To learn more about all of Mouser’s Empowering Innovation Together series — featuring the newly developed Innovation Lab for new projects like bringing super hero technology to life and 3D-printing tools on the International Space Station — visit http://www.mouser.com/empowering-innovation. To watch the new video on Mouser’s YouTube channel, visit https://youtu.be/cW4sRxHbcf8.
About Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics, a subsidiary of TTI, Inc., is part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway family of companies. Mouser is an award-winning, authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor, focused on the rapid introduction of new products and technologies to electronic design engineers and buyers. Mouser.com features more than 4 million products online from more than 600 manufacturers. Mouser publishes multiple catalogs per year providing designers with up-to-date data on the components now available for the next generation of electronic devices. Mouser ships globally to over 500,000 customers in 170 countries from its 750,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit http://www.mouser.com.
About Grant Imahara
Well known in the engineering community, Grant Imahara has paired his engineering expertise with a Hollywood TV and film career. In addition to his roles on MythBusters and BattleBots, Imahara is the inventor behind many famous robotic characters, including the Star Wars prequel-era R2-D2, talking robot sidekick Geoff Peterson from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the rhythmic arms on the modern-day Energizer Bunny.
About GlobalARC
GlobalARC is a full service UAV deployment and management system with built-in airspace compliance and live video feed from drones. It was built by Easy Aerial for professionals looking to manage their fleets and engage in commercial UAV operations. GlobalARC enables companies and service providers to integrate UAV operations into their day to day activities and quickly scale while automatically complying with current rules and regulations. To learn more, visit www.globalarc.us.
