Scott Safety is a manufacturer of innovative respiratory and personal protective equipment and safety devices for firefighters, industrial workers, police squads, militaries, homeland security forces, and rescue teams around the world. The recent 3M acquisition of Scott Safety provides invaluable resources, pioneering technology and partnership in their shared mission to supply firefighters with advanced safety equipment. With a global presence, 3M Scott products will protect thousands of individuals across the globe from environmental hazards including smoke, toxic fumes, combustible gases, falling objects and contaminants. To unite Scott Safety with 3M’s initiatives to explore, connect and invent, Scott Safety will become 3M Scott at FDIC International 2018. The new 3M Scott will be seen in a variety of places, including:

• A new booth display featuring the new branding and products from SCBA to fall protection.
• A kick-off celebration on Wednesday night at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.
• The 3M Safety Roadshow—a fully equipped, mobile training center to showcase 3M’s industrial and fire safety expertise and PPE. The Safety Roadshow will partner with industrial and fire facilities across the U.S. to drive safety training and education. The Safety Roadshow offers firefighters hands-on access and learning to provide a more comprehensive showing of fire safety resources, including 3M Scott’s innovative Air-Pak™ X3 Pro, Scott Sight and other products.
• ·A new Web site: 3M Scott is committed to instituting change, not only for the firefighters of today, but for the firefighters of tomorrow. To provide users with faster and easier access to resources and relevant content, 3M Scott has launched a new Web site to promote an engaging digital experience.

3M Scott will also feature its Air-Pak™ X3 Pro SCBA is built on a proven foundation of redundant safety features to ensure the security and comfort of today’s firefighter. The new product maintains the proven design and value proposition of the Air-Pak X3, with an emphasis on enhancements to cleanability, comfort, and connectivity.

GT-Fire is an innovative, handheld solution designed for the fire industry to isolate gas leaks quicker and easier. After normal evacuation procedures are complete, the GT-Fire portable gas detector enables firefighters to conduct more specific leak detection investigations while they wait for gas utility companies to arrive. With this, firefighters have additional information to secure a scene more effectively.

Scott Sight goes beyond constant thermal vision. It gives firefighters their hands back. That’s because unlike other handheld thermal imaging cameras, Scott Sight combines a camera with a display in the facepiece without the need for reaching down and lifting a camera up. Firefighters now have both hands free for effective communication, victim extraction and carrying tools.

The new HushAir Connect 7500 Compressor System simplifies the process of cylinder refilling and dramatically enhances efficiency and safety. The advanced compressor technology is built around the industry’s first 7,500-psi capability that allows more cylinder fills per charge. With new automatic RFID sensing technology, the RevolveAir Connect can detect and sele

Pierce Arrow XT 100-foot tiller in service with the Indianapolis (IN) Fire Department.

Pierce Arrow XT 100-foot tiller in service with the Indianapolis (IN) Fire Department.

By Derek Rosenfeld

Among the many highlights of FDIC International 2018, the focus on "Emerging Technologies" is certainly near the top of the list. From drones to robot-assisted emergency response to "smart cities," several workshops and classroom sessions during the week are being devoted to the many attention-grabbing advancements that will go a long way to aiding the world of firefighting and, hopefully, saving lives that would not have been saved in the past. 

Included on this list of the most important technological enhancements coming to firefighting is augmented reality (AR). Presented by ARCortex CEO Yohan Baillot during Wednesday morning classroom sessions, "Augmented Reality for Firefighters" took an indepth look at this increasingly relevant visualization solution for first responders that allows them unsurpassed new avenues for situational awareness and training.   

"I was exposed to AR in 1995 when I came to the U.S. from France as an exchange student at UNC—Chapel Hill. I decided that it was going to change the world, and so I made it the focus of my career," Baillot said. "Today, this happening; just search the term 'AR' if you are not convinced. I am not a teacher but a consultant and team leader in AR development, but I have expertise and lessons learned, which I hope will resonate with the crowd."

In this segment of his presentation, Baillot explains the hardware details of AR for vehicle systems:

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"There are several uses for AR that make sense for firefighting—to improve situational awareness, to find a direction quickly, to know where everyone is, to see the invisible, and to help with maintenance and training. And the cost of AR hardware has dramatically fallen due to its emergence in the consumer world."

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In this next segment, Baillot explains how the use of "blue force tracking," a GPS-enabled military system that provides location information about friendly or hostile military forces, is incorporated into augmented reality systems.

Baillot continued, "[Fire companies] should work with equipment companies to request this technology, which in turn would provide the tech transfer from prototype and R&D [research and development] to actual products that can be used. Government and fire department funding cannot pay for that alone; this is where things have been locked for more than a decade regarding the use of these tech." 

In this segment, In this segment of his presentation, Baillot shows a video presentation of the actual integrated management technology first responders can use to track and locate people of interest. 

On this being his first ever FDIC International experience, Baillot concluded, "I am most looking forward to meeting decision makers and large companies that might want to introduce AR with their offerings. I am Interested to learn more about the requirements, lesson l