Pleora joins EDGE Innovation Network for defense and security

Pleora Technologies (Ottawa, ON, Canada) announced that it has joined the EDGE Innovation Network, a collaborative, open-environment initiative enabling industry and academia, with government input, to work together to deliver new technologies and innovative capabilities to warfighters and first responders faster. "The EDGE network will give Pleora a deeper understanding of the needs of soldiers using our technology, allowing us to tailor our solutions more closely to their needs," said Robert Lee, vice-president of marketing at Pleora Technologies. "We look forward to working with other EDGE members to identify opportunities where our networked video connectivity solutions can be leveraged to improve the safety and tactical advantage of warfighters." Pete Palmer, EDGE Innovation Network director, said, "The EDGE bridges gaps between end-user needs and current capabilities by promoting rapidly prototyped solutions that could close those gaps quickly. By applying the EDGE process, the government can quickly and cost-effectively review multiple options for users to evaluate in months rather than years." Sponsored by General Dynamics C4 Systems, the EDGE has already delivered several innovations including a Soldier Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Receiver, or SIR, to the US Army. About the size of a Blackberry, the SIR device delivers real-time streaming video from multiple manned or unmanned assets into the hands of soldiers on the ground. Currently, there are over 10 projects in development intended to improve and enhance warfighter capabilities. There are currently five EDGE Innovation Centers worldwide and over 110 EDGE members. Recent new members include Motorola Federal Markets Division (Columbia, MD, USA), EMC Corporation (Marlborough, MA, USA), Viecore Federal Systems Division (Eatontown, NJ, USA), Protonex Technology Corporation (Southborough, MA, USA), and Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL, USA). As an EDGE technology member, Pleora will introduce four elements of its networked video connectivity solutions to other EDGE members: iPORT IP engines – highly optimized, compact transmitter hardware that packetizes video data from any camera or sensor into an Ethernet-compatible format and sends it in real time with low, consistent latency to one or more network end points, such as mission computers and viewing monitors; eBUS software – a richly featured software development kit (SDK) for building custom video applications, and high-performance drivers that deliver video into a mission computer in real time using only a small fraction of its CPU (central processing unit), leaving ample CPU capacity for the simultaneous processing of applications; vDisplay IP engines – compact video receiving hardware that transfers video data directly from an Ethernet link to a high-definition monitor, eliminating the need for expensive ruggedized mission computers at every viewing station in the vehicle; and EtherCast gateways – compact hardware that transfers broadcast video, including ASI (Asynchronous Serial Interface)-encoded video, in real-time over standard Ethernet networks, making video connectivity to remote sites fast, easy, and affordable. Posted by Vision Systems Design