Global Relief Technologies Wins Defense Pact
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Published by the Boston Globe in Boston.com Business
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff
Global Relief Technologies Inc., a Portsmouth, N.H., company that assists emergency responders and humanitarian aid efforts, said today that it has been awarded a $3.5 million contract by the Department of Defense to help track outbreaks of bird flu in Asia.
The firm has developed software for personal digital assistants that allows emergency responders equipped with them to wirelessly file real-time reports from the field to the company’s headquarters, said chief executive Michael Gray.
That data then can be rapidly analyzed and mapped so "decision makers have timely information," he said.
Under the Defense Department contract, Gray envisions that special teams of US Marines based in Asia will be mobilized when possible outbreaks of bird flu are reported; once on the scene, they will use their PDAs to gather up–to–the–minute intelligence.