“THOR is a bit like a Swiss-Army-Knife on wheels,” said Cory Davis, Director of Verizon Response and Public Safety on the unveiling of the new Tactical Humanitarian Operations Response vehicle, aka THOR. As NextGov reports, the Marine Corps has worked with Verizon to create this communication and disaster response prototype. THOR is essentially a 5G hub on wheels, complete with its own tethered drone.
“At Marine Corps Air Station Miramar this week, we demonstrated THOR’s ability to enable a fully-operational 5G network that allowed: autonomous robot communication to a self-driving battery delivery vehicle, video streaming between people and vehicles in the field, data from sensors on devices operating in an austere environment, and 5G mobile edge computing being used to help decision-makers by providing a single operating picture of all of these data feeds in real-time,” explained Christian Guirnalda, Director of Verizon 5G Labs. Continue Reading
While the Marine Corps stated that there were no plans to construct additional THOR units, THOR’s ability to enter a disaster site and provide immediate connectivity is unprecedented.
“In situations ranging from fighting wildfires in forests where network connections and coverage can be challenging to the devastation and infrastructure damage caused by earthquakes, public safety professionals face the potential of coverage and technology gaps or an out-of-service network,” stated Davis. One THOR comes equipped with private 5G, commercial 4G LTE, Land Mobile Radio and tactical radio capabilities. It also includes wireless networking, microwave, mesh, as well as 4G/5G radios, an exterior touch screen display, a rear command center, a camera, and a six-seat cabin.
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