Vanguard Magazine

54 APRIL/MAY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com treatment system that is mobile and mod- ular with optional solar powered opera- tions. Alteeve Niche is a small Canadian com- pany that turns a ship into a floating data center with their hands-off servers. Their clouds are in the water– I love it. Base Camp Connect sells a product called BCC LITE, which is a portable rapid-deploy kit that creates a local net- work, interconnects radios, and auto- mates network failovers. Terragon Environmental Technologies sells the MAGS system which treats and transforms organic, combustible waste into energy onsite. Bionic Power is a company I got to know years ago when they were starting up. They essentially generate energy in operation through walking! Their har- vester technology resembles an athletic leg brace. The harvester, worn on both legs, generates power during normal walking motion. Sufficient power is gen- erated in one hour to charge three to four smart phones. The technology is used mostly by the U.S. Department of De- fense in theatres, but could be very useful in disaster relief situations as power tends to be one of the most immediate issues. C4i Training & Technology is a service provider business; C4i Training & Tech- nology's employees are experienced in operations center staff development, cri- sis and emergency management training using the latest simulation tools. I would imagine that bringing their efficient, bat- tle-tested skills to disaster relief would be highly efficient. One of the biggest issues across Haiti after the earthquake was communica- tions as most of the networks were down. Families couldn't find each other, and it was very difficult for first responders to communicate. Ottawa-based General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada has developed a deployable, dedicated and secure broadband (LTE/4G) communi- cations system that can be taken with se- curity forces or humanitarian relief teams anywhere in the world. When it is activat- ed, the EmergencySHIELD establishes a persistent network that can rapidly share video, voice, data and location informa- tion that can also supplement existing ra- dio systems. Overall, I find that it is difficult to inno- vate in traditional sectors, such as within NGOs – but imagine the impact we could have if we thought differently about the technologies we could deploy to do good, about the dual use with the defence industry, and about the model by which we deploy those technologies. Nicole Verkindt is the technology editor of Vanguard magazine and founder and presi- dent of OMX. She is a board member of the Canadian Commercial Corporation and was recently appointed to the board of the Peter Munk School of Global Affairs. teChnology watCh Terragon Environmental Technologies Bionic Power Harvester

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