A quiet word for emergency services

First to market with a noise-canceling microphone that can be used by firemen and police in emergency situations, Cork company ODG Technologies is about to ship its first US orders, “In emergency situations such as fires, bomb blasts, and riots, communications can be very difficult because of high noise levels caused by crowds, sirens, alarms and explosions,” says ODG CEO and co-founder Mark Griffin who believes there is a global market for this technology.

“This is a time when clarity of communications for first responders is vital — they need to hear commands correctly and they need to know if they are in immediate danger.”

ODG launched the microphone on the market late last year, initially focussing on the public safety industry in the US where 480,000 radio handsets are sold annually to the police and firefighting services and the market is estimated to be worth $96m (€73.4m).