FEMA, Delivering Emergency Power
Colorado School Of Mines, Fall 2020
Problem Statement
State Emergency Support Function (ESF) #12 needs a way to deliver emergency power requiring minimal sustainment to isolated communities in order to reduce risk to locals until emergency management teams can reach them.
Problem Scoping and Discovery
The team conducted over 100 interviews across multiple agencies and organizations, including FEMA, CISA, DOE, and the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC).
They learned:
Power requirements of essential devices should be calculated with the combination of battery storage and solar as the solution.
Communication is most essential during a disaster.
Deployability is an important focus.
Solution Proposed
The team developed a beta product in the form of a delivery drone. It distributes an essential relief kit consisting of a solar tarp, battery storage & thermal pads (weighing only 5.5kg with a cost of $919.99).
Results
The student team formed a company, Blackout LLC, with mentorship from early seed investors, to further develop, field, and deploy a solution for emergency management agencies and was in the process of developing a potential test case with 40 Utah Dept. of Transportation drones.