Public safety agencies in Avondale, Ariz., store a backup of all of their computer data inside one 5-foot-tall box that can withstand fire, rain and shock.
Now, the box’s maker, Elliptical Mobile Solutions, is marketing the product to the Defense Department.
Avondale’s campus self-propelled electronic adaptable rack, or C-SPEAR, runs on powered wheels, allowing city officials to move 1,000 pounds worth of computer equipment — or 44 terabytes worth of city e-mails, documents and databases — from one building to another.
“Literally, within an hour, we can unplug it, relocate it and get it running again,” says Kevin Hinderleider, Avondale’s director of information technology. The box has an inner frame that is suspended inside the outer frame using patented shock-resistant technology. It protects the city’s sensitive information from being wiped out in the event of a catastrophe, Hinderleider adds.
Elliptical Mobile Solutions, which is based in Arizona, was founded in 2005 and has attracted about 40 investors who poured more than $1 million into developing the product. Versions built to withstand desert heat and other extreme conditions retail at $130,000. Less-rugged versions retail for $20,000 to $30,000.
Company co-founder Simon J. Rohrich says the military could use the product to secure computer systems on the battlefield. Such systems are typically housed in trucks. “Our device can go places where trucks can’t,” Rohrich says. “It has more power and capability, can go into buildings, can operate in the theater much longer.”
These airtight, watertight boxes have closed-loop air conditioning units that prevent the computers inside from overheating. The boxes plug into power sockets, though batteries can keep the machines running for up to 12 hours.
Rohrich says the Department of Homeland Security also could use the product.
“This little unit could run an entire border checkpoint,” he says.