Jumping on the Radio Bandwagon

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is testing a new radio that allows first responders to talk to one another across different frequency bands.

The new radio is now required since the challenge of aligning communications among different first responders - such as fire fighters, police officers, and emergency medical teams - has grown in step with the size and sophistication of response teams and plans.

As the construction of public safety systems consumed all the available channels in a single radio band, the government logically opened up other bands. But radio equipment lagged behind, continuing to operate on just one spectrum band. This limitation did indeed create communications hurdles during the most serious emergencies---natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

"The issue of being able to talk to each other has been such a prominent one for so long, responder agencies were jumping at the opportunity to test the new radios we were evaluating," said Tom Chirhart, who manages the DHS Science and Technology Directorate's (S&T) three-and-a-half-year-old multi-band radio (MBR) research project.

Starting in November, agencies across the country are trying out this leading edge technology with fellow first responders as part of 30-day pilot projects.

Ashley Strickland, a captain at the Pittsboro Fire Department in Indiana who tested out an early multi-band radio prototype, observes that interoperability issues have become more important in the last decade as first responders now routinely respond to emergencies outside their official jurisdiction.

Boise Fire Department Captain Paul Roberts thinks about multi-band radio innovation much in the way he thinks about his smartphone. Once upon a time (not too long ago, actually), if you wanted to make a few phone calls, listen to your favorite tunes, edit your calendar, download emails, and surf the web, you had to tote around five separate, bulky devices and all but wear a utility belt.

The extra weight slowed you down, the extra screens cut down on your efficiency, and the extra cash you spent burned a hole in your pocket. Then, along came a device on which you could do all of these things at one time, boosting productivity and saving money.

Many first responders today are stuck working in a similar prehistoric era, lugging around multiple radios on their belts, just so that they can listen and talk to other first responders at different agencies. Although amateur radio operators are able to communicate across different bands, unfortunately, their products aren't sturdy or reliable enough to be used by first response professionals.

"The value in a multi-band radio is that you don't have to carry three or four different radios---or buy three or four radios at a cost of $4,000 each," said Roberts, whose fire department is one of the 14 participating in the pilot projects.

Right now, the new multi-band radio rings in at about the same cost ($4,000-$6,000), size (10 inches tall), and weight (less than two pounds) of top-of-the-line single-band radios.

It works on the five frequency bands currently used by state and local first responders, and, if necessary, can work on four other bands used exclusively by the federal government, the Department of Defense, National Guard and the Coast Guard. It even provides weather reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The battery is expected to last in excess of 10 hours in order to meet the realities of longer shifts.

Did we mention it will still work if it's sprayed with a fire hose?

S&T hopes that the introduction of these radios will spur manufacturers to develop their own professional quality versions - much like what happened with smartphones - along with accessories like alternative batteries or GPS chips that departments can purchase separately.

A final version of the radios could be ready for the mass market by the middle of 2010. By that time, supply should meet demand, as many companies are now jumping on the virtual bandwagon to develop these new radios. S&T launched the MBR project with the goal of stimulating the marketplace so that multiple vendors would see the value in developing this technology to provide greater options that meet public safety requirements.

If the technology is as successful as S&T thinks that it could be, interoperability challenges, like cell phones that only make phone calls, may become forgotten relics of the past.

Airport Whisperers

A small Maryland company recently won an $11 million contract to help Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers better handle suspicious passengers. ACG Systems developed a way for TSA officers to "whisper" to each other to discreetly respond to a situation and avoid causing a scene at an airport checkpoint. The firm won a three-year contract to supply 20,000 TSA officers with radios programmed with roughly eight text messages that communicate phrases from "assistance required" to "person of interest." Part of TSA's Whisper Wireless Communication Program, TSA is procuring the technology as part of a new initiative called the Checkpoint Evolution, which is designed to increase the effectiveness of screening at airports.

$17.2M for Mobile X-Ray Inspection Vans

The U.S. Customs & Border Protection has released a contract award notice for a $2.8 million order to Rapiscan Systems for the purchase of Mobile X-ray inspection vans. The award is the first to be placed under the terms of Rapiscan Systems' recently received $17.2 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. CBP.

Portable Liquid Scanners

Smiths Detection has received a $21.9 million order from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to supply portable liquid detection scanners for its Bottle Liquid Scanner (BLS) program. The RespondeR BLS detectors, based on Smith Detection`s RespondeR RCI scanner, are tailored to meet specific TSA requirements. The RespondeR BLS uses Raman spectroscopy to penetrate containers without opening or damaging them in order to detect and distinguish threat liquids from benign liquids. In less than 20 seconds, advanced spectrometry content analysis compares the results to a propriety library of threat substances that can be tailored to include toxic or hazardous chemicals and explosives.

Cabin with a Vu

Caribbean Airlines, the national flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago, has chosen to come back to AD Aerospace to enhance cockpit security on its Boeing 737 aircraft. The Cockpit Door Monitoring System improves in flight security by increasing the situational awareness of the pilots by providing them with a clear and unrestricted view of any activity in the area outside the cockpit door and in the adjacent galleys. CabinVu , provides pilots with a forward looking, clear and unobstructed view of the area outside the cockpit door and in the adjacent galleys from their usual seated positions. A series of cameras are linked to either one or two monitors and associated controllers within easy reach of the pilots for ease and comfort of use.With the view provided by the system the pilots can visually identify anyone requesting entry and take appropriate action, should an incident arise. FlightVu equipment has been or is being installed on aircraft for Caribbean Airlines, Boeing, airBaltic, Austrian Airlines, GECAS, ILFC, Neos, Privilege, Orient Thai, Comair, Hong Kong Express, Hong Kong Airways, bmi, British Airways, JetBlue, Thomsonfly, Air Asia, Corsair, easyJet, Hainan, Germania, TUIfly, Sama and MyTravel amongst others.