SPOTLIGHT: EC backs the Marius Project

The European Commission announced it will be the primary financier of the project known as Marius (Mobile Autonomous Reactive Information System for Urgency Situations). Marius aims to provide temporary mobile networks in usually hard to reach locales during crisis situations. The plan calls for simplified mobile networks headquartered in helicopters that hover over the area. These networks will carry SMS messages between emergency workers, but will not facilitate voice calls. Article