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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"><img width="237" height="114" style="width:2.4687in;height:1.1875in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.png@01D83860.06D07410"></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:black">Introducing the US$5.6 mil. FRST Challenge Prize Competition</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">Seeking: Competitors, Mentors, Experts, and Industry Partners<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">Funded by: U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">Administered by: Indiana University Crisis Technologies Innovation Lab</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">Tracking has long been a problem for first responders. While GPS tracking can roughly establish where on earth a person is, it is often not accurate enough to ascertain a person’s location or
elevation within a building. Knowing the exact location within a structure of first responders during a search and rescue operation is vital to the coordination and safety of rescue efforts.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">The First Responder Smart Tracking (FRST) Challenge aims to solve this problem by fostering innovations for and with the first responder community with
<b>over $5.6 Million (USD) in prizes </b>across 5 phases of competition. Successful participants will produce a technology that can track first responders to less than 1-meter accuracy in three dimensions, with no pre-deployed infrastructure, and in various
environments.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">The FRST Challenge is already underway, with Phase 1 concept paper submission dates due March 21, 2022, at 11:59 pm EDT (UTC-4) for a chance to win first-round funding. Walk-on competitor teams
are also encouraged to join the competition for Phases 2 and 3 regardless of their participation or prize-winning in Phase 1. The final two phases of the competition will culminate in a live field test at a first responder training facility. (NOTE: The competition
may accept late submissions for Phases 1 and 2 at the judges’ discretion.)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">A recording of the Phase 1 Kickoff Webinar can be accessed
<a href="https://frstchallenge.com/frst-challenge/contest-overview/"><span style="color:#1155CC">here</span></a>. </span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black">For more information, please visit
<a href="https://frstchallenge.com/rules/"><span style="color:#1155CC">FRSTChallenge.com/rules</span></a> for the official competition rules and sign up for our updates. Create an account on the official
<a href="https://portal.r2network.com/frst/signup/"><span style="color:#1155CC">FRST Challenge Community Portal</span></a> to submit applications, find teammates, access resources and interact with other stakeholders. The portal is open to everyone, not just
competitors. Regular office hours are offered with competition management to answer any questions you may have. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Please let me know if you are interested in discussing how you can be involved.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best regards,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sonny<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728">___________________________________________</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728"> </span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728">Sonny Kirkley, Ph.D.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728"> </span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728">Project Director<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728">FRST Challenge</span><a href="https://frstchallenge.com/" title="https://frstchallenge.com/"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-decoration:none"> </span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">FRSTchallenge.com</span></a><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728">Email </span><a href="mailto:ekirkley@iu.edu" title="mailto:ekirkley@iu.edu"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">ekirkley@iu.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#272728"> 812.325.9100</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Schedule a Meeting: </span><a href="https://calendly.com/skirkley" title="https://calendly.com/skirkley">calendly.com/skirkley</a><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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