FreeWave Technologies has announced its partnership with Solarbeam International, Inc. Together, FreeWave and Solarbeam offer a variety of solutions for intrusion detection applications in the plant automation, defense and homeland security, and many other industries. The latest innovation by Solarbeam with FreeWave Technologies is a Roadway Animal Detection System (RADS) that not only protects wildlife, but alerts drivers of animals on the road.
"We value our partnership with FreeWave because it offers customer commitment and dependability that is critical within the markets we serve," explained Jeff Porter, director of sales and marketing at Solarbeam. "By deploying radios that are manufactured by FreeWave, along with our leading solar-powered monitoring technologies, we are confident that our combined solution will provide around-the-clock, real-time intrusion detection and perimeter monitoring. Plus, FreeWave's radios are a fraction of the cost of a fiber-optic cable installation, while providing the same level of reliability a strong value proposition for our customers."
The Solarbeam perimeter system is composed of multiple solar towers, solar-powered batteries, detectors (Infrared [IR], microwave, radar, or other sensors) and FreeWave radio communications. With FreeWave radios, Solarbeam can monitor each solar-powered tower individually providing diagnostics, such as solar voltage, battery voltage and the general health of the tower. As legislation continues to pass regarding standards for chemical plants, there are increasing guidelines for securing the perimeter of these facilities. The Solarbeam perimeter system with FreeWave radios will help meet these new regulations, while providing reliable, cost effective security. Additionally, FreeWave Technologies has long been trusted for mission critical wireless monitoring within government and defense markets. These features are essential in Solarbeam's perimeter security installations at military bases, border security, and emergency response depots.
The Roadway Animal Detection System (RADS) by Solarbeam also can offer automatic detection of deer, bear, moose, elk and other animals that may be crossing a roadway. With more than one million animal-vehicle collisions per year, according to the Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Study; Report to Congress in 2008, the ability to forewarn drivers has become critical in dramatically decreasing these incidences. According to that same report, these collisions led to 211 human fatalities, 29,000 human injuries and more than $1 billion in property damage in 2008. The system helps protect drivers by providing timely notification to motorists that are approaching a location where an animal intrusion has occurred. It also uses FreeWave's wireless radios which allows for easy installation and flexibility for use in remote locations. With the cost of the average animal-vehicle collision and the average annual cost per mile of RADS both approaching $30,000, the application of these systems in higher risk areas is drawing the attention of governments and insurance companies alike.
"FreeWave is a great fit for Solarbeam's perimeter solutions and our combined technologies offer a top-notch monitoring system," said Ashish Sharma chief marketing officer at FreeWave Technologies, "Our technologies are used every day in extremely remote locations with varying geographical and weather factors. These robust features, together with Solarbeam's dependable monitoring system, make an ideal fit for customers who are looking to protect valuable assets regardless of weather, terrain or temperature."
