Suburban companies united to help fight potential terrorism, provide sponsorship and increased communications with products and services to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the Olympics and throngs of visitors.
Some of the companies included Schaumburg-based Motorola Solutions, Oak Brook-based McDonald's Corp., Chicago-based AT&T, Downers Grove-based DeVry University and Romeoville-based Isovac Products LLC.
Here's what they did:
•Motorola Solutionsboosted public safety for Rio with more than 16,000 portable, in-vehicle mobile and fixed-station radios for public safety personnel, the Brazilian Army and other first responders to safeguard the millions of visitors and residents.
"We addressed a wide range of needs, deploying state-of-the-art technology, from secure voice communications to situation awareness capabilities, including the use of robust devices and different software applications," said Rodrigo Franciscani, senior manager of Business Development Solutions & Services at Motorola Solutions Brazil.
"A key aspect of this preparation was to aim for communications interoperability among different organizations (federal, state and city) that will contribute to the citizens and visitors safety."
Motorola Solutions Public Safety APX series radios were used by the Army and TETRA portable and mobile radios were used by state organizations. The devices provided easy use, audio clarity, background noise cancellation, protection against shock, and advanced encryption, among others, the company said.
The local agencies worked together, making it possible to gather intelligence to carry out joint actions, such as delegation protection, incident prevention and routine activities. In addition to radio communications, they had full visibility of the real-time location of the officers in the field at the command center.
•McDonald's Corp., a long-standing sponsor, honored 100 kids from 20 countries worldwide with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in the opening ceremony in Rio, said David Zlotnik, senior director of global public relations for McDonald's.
McDonald's Olympics Kids represented friendship, unity and kids worldwide as they participated in the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium in front of 80,000 spectators and billions of TV viewers worldwide.
Six children from the United States were from families who benefitted from the services of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Zlotnik said.
In addition, a McDonald's restaurant was serving media, athletes and their friends and family in the International Zone of the Olympic Village, he said.
• NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, is using theAT&Tnetworking services to deliver high-definition coverage. AT&T is also a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Since 1984, AT&T has worked with Team USA and Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls to keep them connected to coaches, family, friends and fans as they train and compete around the world, AT&T said.
"For the 10th consecutive Olympic Games, our network will help enable NBC Olympics to present their coverage to viewers," Frank Jules, president, AT&T Global Business, said in a statement. "We know this business intimately and have the capabilities and scope to give viewers a seamless viewing experience on their screen of choice."
In addition, AT&T hosted an event on July 1 at its store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago with U.S. women's Olympic soccer star Alex Morgan, said AT&T spokesman Phil Hayes.
•DeVry Universitywas an official education provider of Team USA, and DeVry allows Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls to continue their education while they pursued their Olympic dreams. There were more than 125 Team USA student athletes at DeVry and its Keller Graduate School of Management and DeVry worked with nine student-athletes for the Rio games, said a DeVry spokeswoman.
In addition, two DeVry students were chosen to work alongside the U.S. Olympic Committee tech department in Rio during the games. Through the Student Immersion Experience, DeVry student, Lisa Cha, and recent graduate, Demetrius Graham, gained on-the-ground, real-world experience working side by side with IT professionals, said a DeVry spokeswoman.
To read the full article written by Anna Marie Kukec, please visit Daily Herald.
