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Voice, Video, and Data Programs for Public Safety

Voice, Video, and Data Programs for Public Safety

A police officer sits in his car typing on a laptopTo support S&T’s mission to provide first responders with the tools and technologies they need, the Voice, Video, and Data Portfolio was established to address how first responders send and receive information. Currently, the majority of communications occurs via land mobile radio (LMR), which has a short communication range and is on commercial cellular networks vulnerable infrastructure. S&T aims to identify capability gaps and develop innovative solutions that provide first responders with the tools, technologies, methodologies, and guidance they need to enable improved communications interoperability during the most pressing challenges they face during day-to-day and large-scale emergencies.

Recent Voice, Video, and Data News & Announcements

Register for the 2019 Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) Workshop!

Join S&T at the annual VQiPS Workshop, August 7 to 8, Raleigh, North Carolina. Register Now.RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 7 to 8, 2019 -- Join S&T at the annual, VQiPS Workshop to learn from panel speakers and attendees about public safety video use cases and applications from across the country. For more information, please visit the VQiPS Workshop event page. Click the image to register for the workshop.

Automated Speech Recognition Technology

First responders are often in critical situations where a hands-free voice interface solution could enhance their situational awareness and help ensure their safety. As part of its mission to support the identification and integration of existing and emerging technologies, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has partnered with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) to develop potential Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) technology solutions.

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Broadband Demonstration Network – Deployables

In collaboration with S&T, the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) team is evaluating key aspects of Deployable Systems (DS) in laboratory, field and real-world environments. The Deployables project examines ways in which first responders could access and communicate critical information during incidents occurring in areas that are not served or are underserved by the fixed Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN)  or alternative access networks, such as commercial carriers or public Wi-Fi. The goal of the project is for public safety to have a better understanding of the state of DS in the industry, thereby enabling public safety to develop requirements that can be used in future releases of DS standards.

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Broadband Demonstration Network – In-Building

S&T and the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) team are exploring methods for assessing the coverage of LTE systems inside of buildings. Many buildings and structures pose significant radio communication challenges that require in-building support to enable high-performance communications. To address this problem and to mitigate in-building coverage issues, the team has conducted extensive testing to determine the state of indoor LTE coverage and provide procedures and techniques to both quantify and improve in-building performance and coverage for band class 14 LTE Systems. The data obtained can be used to mitigate data gaps in and around buildings or areas where signal coverage is inadequate.

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Datacasting

Datacasting leverages existing broadcast television spectrum to deliver secure video and other information, such as blueprint files, with specified public safety users, providing a new and cost-effective method to relieve traffic from traditional wireless infrastructure. Datacasting is a broadcasting mechanism capable of one-to-many content delivery. For example, an unlimited number of recipients can be targeted without running out of bandwidth. S&T conducted three pilots of the technology with the cities of Houston and Chicago.

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Mission Critical Voice Intelligibility over Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Voice Intelligibility over Long Term Evolution (LTE) Broadband Network applications are emerging as an important communication tool for first responders, with an increasing number of public safety personnel using LTE in their daily operations. The intelligibility of speech — the ability to be understood — in difficult environments is one of the key requirements established by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council. This project aims to develop, implement, and analyze tests that measure how LTE-compatible digital speech coders and error-concealment algorithms perform in deteriorated radio channel conditions as appropriate for public safety applications. A fundamental requirement for mission critical push-to-talk voice services is the delivery of intelligible speech.  High intelligibility can support efficient execution of time-critical public safety operations.  Lower intelligibility can lead to requests for repetition that can slow operations, or even misunderstandings that can jeopardize operations, safety, and even lives.

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Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS)

VQiPS develops assessment tools and guidance documents that enable first responder agencies to purchase and deploy appropriate video technology to meet their operational needs. Purchase and deployment of systems by first responder agencies in accordance with VQiPS guidance will enhance video system interoperability within and across agencies. VQiPS coordinates disparate video standard development efforts and ultimately arm public safety consumers with the knowledge they need to purchase and deploy cost-efficient, interoperable video systems.

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Wearable Alert and Monitoring System (WAMS)

In partnership with NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), our teams are developing a distributed intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) communication system that brings seamless situational awareness to first responders. WAMS works in cooperation with JPL’s AUDREY (Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction & Synthesis) system that uses human-like artificial intelligence to understand the needs of first responders and incident managers. WAMS is composed of wearable devices called sensor nodes that connect to IoT sensors, as well as controller software that works with both local and remote AUDREY agents in the cloud to provide on demand communication and computing based on first responders’ needs.

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Chicago Long-Term Evolution (LTE)

The completed Chicago LTE pilot leveraged existing investments and infrastructure through collaboration with the Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication (OEMC) and the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to allow first responders to see what happens if they are in an urban area with high-speed, real-time access to law enforcement video information over the public safety broadband. This effort served as a proof of concept and was completed in the in the spring of 2015.

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