Two tech accelerators were nominated by the Department of Homeland Security to run a program encouraging innovation in wearables for first responders.
Dallas-based Tech Wildcatters and Chicago-based TechNexus are accepting applications for the incubator program, called Emerge. The program will include 10 to 15 companies between the two accelerators, accepting companies working on technology that can assist first responders, according to MobiHealthNews.
First responders could use better communication tools that wearables could address, but the dangerous conditions that first responders often face make consumer wearables not suitable. Companies will receive $15,000 at the start and $10,000 upon completion for a total of $25,000.
Tech Wildcatters' accelerator will partner with Wearable Word, a media and technology company based in San Francisco, which will mentor the companies. The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, which trains first responders, will help the companies test the wearables, according to the report.
The DHS and the nonprofit Center for Innovative Technology, which assisted the DHS in supporting the two accelerators, aim to encourage innovation in products the government can use but does not make any commitment to a government purchase, according to the report.