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NISTs rolling wireless net helps improve first-responder communications
Posted: 11 Aug 2016 12:00 PM PDT
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This news item, published yesterday by NIST, is yet another development
that promises to marginalizeÂ*amateur radio in emergency communications. If
amateur radio wants to stayÂ*relevant, it needs something like AMSAT for
emergency communications, i.e. a group that will research and develop
emergency communications systems.Dan
NISTâs rolling wireless net helps improve first-responder communications
First responders often have trouble communicating with each other in
emergencies. They may use different types of radios, or they may be working
in rural areas lacking wireless coverage, or they may be deep inside large
buildings that block connections.
NIST engineer Ben Posthuma demonstrating the use of NISTâs Rapidly
Deployable Public Safety Research Platform, a mobile array of commercial
technologies that can be set up in strategic locations to enable over 200
local users of broadband smart phones, Wi-Fi, data terminals and older
walkie-talkie radios to all communicate with each other. Researchers use
this self-contained mobile network for research and demonstration projects
to improve public safety communications.
Credit: NIST
View hi-resolution image
To demonstrate improvements to emergency communications and foster research
on systems that can be quickly placed in strategic locations, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has worked with industry
partners to integrate commercial technologies into a mobile wireless
communications system. About the size of a large file cabinet, the platform
offers more capabilities and faster setup than typical âcell on wheelsâ
systems.
As some users call it fondly on social media, itâs a Nerdcart.
NISTâs Rapidly Deployable Public Safety Research Platformâthe more official
nameâenables over 200 local users of broadband smart phones, Wi-Fi, data
terminals and older walkie-talkie radios to all communicate with each other
using voice, text, instant messages, video and data. The range is about 4
kilometers (2.5 miles) in a rural environment. Crucially, the system
interconnects Long Term Evolution (LTE) phones, the latest wireless
standard, with the public safety communityâs traditional Land Mobile Radio
(LMR) systems. The nationâs estimated 5 million public safety personnel are
expected to use a mix of both systems. LTE data transmission rates are 30
to 1,000 times higher than LMR.
âThe portable system was built to enable research in diverse environments,â
said Tracy McElvaney,an engineering supervisor in NISTâs Public Safety
Communications Research (PSCR) Division. âBut it is modeled afterFirstNetâs
image of a vehicle-borne network system and the public safety communityâs
vision of a rapidly deployable system to be used when the nationwide
network is not available.â
âOur role at NIST is not to develop the technology itself, but to integrate
the state-of-the-art pieces into a conceptual platform that will help drive
the industry to meet publicsafety needsâthat is, to make portable systems
smaller, more robust and with more capabilities,â McElvaney said.
NISTâs research and demonstration platform was developed through PSCRâs
Broadband Consortium, in which more than 70 vendors provide equipment and
support. PSCR staff use the system for research projects such as evaluating
how to improve audio intelligibility amid crowds and background noise and
the development of a database of communications in high-stress, loud-noise
environments. The platform enables research into factors considered
critical to the public safety mission, such as how to establish âpush to
talkâ (i.e., using a button to switch from sending to receiving)
capabilities over broadband systems.
PSCR staff recently tested the system at a convention center and a stadium
in Harris County, Texas, an early adopter of LTE technology for public
safety.
âTypically, it takes on the order of hours to deploy a âcell on wheelsâ
system to provide coverage at an event, and multiple deployable systems are
needed to enable both LTE and LMRâ McElvaney said. âOur system provides
LTE, LMR, video and data. We rolled the system from the vehicle into the
building, and once connected to an AC power outlet, we were making calls in
less than 5 minutes.â
The mobile system can also be connected to the internet, satellite or a
commercial cellular network to link users to a broader community. PSCR
staff are currently exploring integrating sensor data and analytics into
the system, and developing requirements for linking up with both personal
area networks that are already in place as well as temporary Incident Area
Networks, which are created as needed and can expand as an incident grows
in size and complexity.
NIST has Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with the
partners contributing to the mobile platform. CRADAs are the principal
mechanism used by federal labs to engage in collaborative efforts with
nonfederal organizations and allow the exchange of resources with private
industry to advance technologies that can then be commercialized for the
benefit of the public and the U.S. economy.
The mobile net is just one of a number of deployable systems PSCR plans to
evaluate and leverage for research. Others include backpack systems that
can rapidly serve a small team of users, vehicle-mounted systems and
perhaps airborne systems.
The work was funded, in part, by the Department of Homeland Securityâs
First Responder Group.
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