HOUSTON — September 2004 — Operation Respond Institute, Inc. (www.oreis.org) is teaming with QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) to demonstrate an emergency response system that allows emergency responders to respond more quickly and effectively to motor carrier safety and security incidents along the nation’s highways. Operation Respond will integrate its OREIS emergency response software with QUALCOMM’s OmniTRACS satellite-based mobile communications and position location system to demonstrate the ability to track the movement and contents of vehicles as they travel the highways, and provide this information to first responders in the case of an incident or security breach. Operation Respond has partnered with Emergency Services Information Network (ESINC) to allow emergency responders to quickly and accurately receive information about the presence of hazardous materials, and respond accordingly. ESINC (www.esinc.info) is an electronic network of OREIS users who receive emergency messages and alerts via fax, cell phone, pager and email.
A demonstration of this capability will take place on Sept. 8, 2004, at the Transtar Traffic Management Center in Houston and will include WW Rowland as the carrier. The demonstration will feature a simulated highway incident to showcase this integrated solution. A driver will use QUALCOMM's OmniTRACS System to initiate an onboard alert that sends an automatic emergency notification to QUALCOMM's control center. QUALCOMM will send the alert message and location of the vehicle to the ORI/ESINC control center. The ORI/ESINC control center will determine the hazardous materials contents information of the Rowland truck through an OREIS connection to Rowland's dispatch center. The combined information about the nature of the incident, the motor carrier location and specific hazardous materials will then be sent via the ORI/ESINC network to the appropriate local emergency responders. Responders on the receiving end will receive maps showing the affected truck’s location and route. This entire process, from driver alerting to responder notification, is expected to take approximately two minutes. All data will be transmitted via secure network connections. The potential also exists to alert state and local governments—as well as other customizable parties—with this capability.
Following the Houston demonstration, QUALCOMM and Operation Respond may expand the demonstrations to additional cities.
Since 1995, the Operation Respond Institute (ORI), a not for profit institute, has been dedicated to providing emergency responders with technology to help in response and preparation for transportation incidents. ORI develops tools for emergency responders, including the OREIS™ software, which provides real-time hazmat contents of railcars and trucks that have been in an incident.
OREIS includes placard and UN ID guides, as well as the Coast Guard’s CHRIS, the Association of American Railroad’s Chemical List and NIOSH’s target Organs Guide. OREIS is posed to become an electronic “one-stop-shop” for emergency responders, providing information about multiple types of incidents and modes of transportation. Upcoming versions will include port container and expanded motor carrier capabilities. OREIS is currently installed in over 5,000 locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
QUALCOMM is the industry’s global leader in providing high-value wireless data solutions with Network Operations Centers that process more than nine million transactions each day. QUALCOMM has shipped more than 523,000 mobile systems to businesses in more than 39 countries on four continents.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2003 FORTUNE 500(r) company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market(r) under the ticker symbol QCOM.