Case Study: L3Harris achieves NFPA-compliant rugged speaker microphone performance with Porticos

L3Harris launches first NFPA-compliant speaker microphone with Porticos

Porticos, Inc. was engaged by L3Harris to develop the XL Extreme Speaker Microphone (ESM), a critical accessory for their line of ultra-rugged firefighter radios. The challenge was to create a device that matched the radio's toughness while delivering high audio quality, integrating complex controls in a dense package, and operating under strict power constraints as it is powered by the host radio.

Porticos engineered a solution that utilized flexible printed circuits to simplify assembly and shield sensitive signals. They developed an optimized audio processing architecture to work within limited processor resources and created a sophisticated power calculator to manage consumption. As a result, Porticos delivered the first and only speaker microphone of its kind to achieve full compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) testing, meeting all requirements for audio quality, size, ruggedness, and battery life.

L3Harris