Beam Global, provider of innovative sustainable technology for electric vehicle (EV) charging, outdoor media and energy security, announced that Project Vesta, an unmanned fire control prototype that combines state-of-the art technology and Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) equipment has selected the EV ARC off-grid solar-powered EV charging and emergency power system to provide a critical component of an innovative fire mitigation system that networks autonomous air and ground vehicles, solar charging capabilities, fire response equipment and communications. The Project Vesta goal is persistent fire surveillance and analytics capabilities enabled by edge computing and rapid interoperability.
“The Project Vesta team is excited to have Beam Global join this autonomous wildfire fighting experiment. Their engagement with the SoCal Tech Bridge continues to deepen as Marines and Sailors across several west coast bases have access to EV ARC systems,” said Captain Ben Cohen, US Marine Corps. “To have Beam bring their expertise in providing vital off-grid alternative energy to the experiment is absolutely a win.”
The event will be hosted February 14-18, 2022 by the Joint Interagency Field Experimentation (JIFX) 22-2 at Camp Roberts, CA. The organisations spearheading Project Vesta are NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge as part of the US Marine Corps, JIFX as part of the Naval Post Graduate School (NPS) in Monterrey, TESIAC with their Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering and CANA Advisors. Public Private Partnerships (P3) demonstrate how collaboration between government agencies and private sector companies can target large-scale projects and problems to drive solutions faster and more effectively than when approached in silos.
“Wildfires cause profound loss of loss of life, property, commerce and natural resources, and they are increasing in frequency and severity,” said Desmond Wheatley, CEO of Beam Global. “We are proud to be an active participant in Project Vesta. The EV ARC transportable off-grid EV charging system will provide vital energy to drones and electric ground vehicles equipped to help manage and suppress fires. The EV ARC system requires no liquid fuels, it’s always running, and it does not create fire danger or pollution as a diesel or gasoline generator might.”
Project Vesta is a critical step in the evolution of faster, safer and more effective wildfire control and mitigation. Wildfires are a significant problem continually growing in severity and scope globally and especially in the California region. The threat to people, wildlife, natural and commercial resources, and the environment is profound and long-lasting. First responders committed to fighting fires face significant boots-on-the-ground peril and Project Vesta aims to accelerate the use of technology to detect fires sooner, deploy fire suppressing measures faster, and reduce the risk to human life.
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Media contact
Rebecca Morpeth Spayne,
Editor, International Fire Buyer
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922
Email: editor@firebuyer.com
