The Public Safety Communications Research Program

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Boulder Flatirons in summertime.
Please click PLAY above to see some of our work ~ Click a slide to jump to its work area.
002_A
Staff installing cable on tower.

We are implementing a Public Safety Broadband Demonstration Network to provide a multi-vendor environment for early systems deployment and evaluation.
Mobile touch-screen devices in use.
Mobile touch-screen devices in use.

The network will be available to emergency responders, vendors, carriers, and academia to understand how the broadband systems function and meet user needs.
Staff frames a video shot at a fire practice site.
Staff frames a video shot at a fire practice site.

We are helping develop public safety video performance requirements to support incident coordination, live and forensic analysis, and telemedicine.
Subject works through a video quality test.
Subject works through a video quality test.

We developed a subjective testing methodology that has been incorporated into ITU standards.
CDVL homepage banner.
CDVL homepage banner.

The video samples we provide to the Consumer Digital Video Library (CDVL) support video performance research.
Image capture of a CDVL fire video.
Image capture of a CDVL fire video.

We create these samples to conduct our own testing for establishing public safety video quality performance standards.
Firefighter wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) mask in thick smoke.
Firefighter wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) mask in thick smoke.

We are working with fire fighters to understand how background noise affects voice communications.
Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) wearing a SCBA mask with a radio in our lab.
Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) wearing a SCBA mask with a radio in our lab.

We conduct subjective listening experiments that enable definition of performance parameters and associated values.
Firefighters undergoing SCBA mask and communications training.
Firefighters undergoing SCBA mask and communications training.

We identified immediate behavioral, procedural, and technical steps agencies can take to avoid or minimize emergency response background noise.
A variety of hand-held land mobile radios (LMRs).
A variety of hand-held land mobile radios (LMRs).

Public safety and industry have partnered through P25 on developing standards that allow radio systems to interoperate regardless of manufacturer.
Fire, police, and emergency medical services personnel in discussion at an incident.
Fire, police, and emergency medical services personnel in discussion at an incident.

We built a coalition of emergency responders and communications manufacturers to form a Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) that tests equipment for P25 compliance.
Officer using a hand-held LMR.
Officer using a hand-held LMR.

Manufacturers can participate in the voluntary Compliance Assessment Program to formally demonstrate their P25 products’ compliance with requirements in the P25 standards suite.
Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) homepage banner.
Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) homepage banner.

Participants submit Supplier’s Declaration of Compliance (SDoC) documents and Summary Test Reports to the Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) for DHS review and approval of eligibility for grant procurement.
Grant guidance decision chart example.
Grant guidance decision chart example.

Use our grant guidance charts to navigate the criteria for what public safety communications equipment you can purchase under Federal grant guidance.
LMR command truck in the field.
LMR command truck in the field.

The P25 Document Suite Reference (P25 DSR) tracks P25 standards status to help public safety radio system managers make procurement decisions.
Project 25 interfaces diagram.
Project 25 interfaces diagram.

The P25 DSR describes the organization and relationships of the standards necessary to build components of a P25 LMR system.
Incident communications trucks from different agencies and jurisdictions convening at a site.
Incident communications trucks from different agencies and jurisdictions convening at a site.

We are leading a coalition of public safety officials and VoIP vendors to ensure that disparate radio systems can interoperate using VoIP technologies.
A meeting of people working on the Bridging Systems Interface (BSI) Voice over IP (VoIP) profiles.
A meeting of people working on the Bridging Systems Interface (BSI) Voice over IP (VoIP) profiles.

We formed the Public Safety VoIP Working Group to develop bridging interoperability requirements.
Web banner for the Bridging Systems Interface document.
Web banner for the Bridging Systems Interface document.

We helped develop bridging system interfaces “profiles” based on usage scenarios. Leading VoIP vendors have demonstrated interoperability using these profiles.

In Memoriam, DJ Atkinson — PSCR electronics engineer

Features

✔ U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson visits our public safety labs.

✔ Public Safety 700-MHz Demonstration Network Study Items

Participate in the study item groups formed for the Public Safety 700-MHz Demonstration Network PSCR is implementing to provide manufacturers a location (view a Google Earth flyover) for early deployment and evaluation of their systems in a multi-vendor environment.

✔ Modified Rhyme Test — A PSCR study to understand how background noise (listen to samples) affects fire fighter LMR voice communications.

✔ PSCR is providing public safety video application research samples to the CDVL, which PSCR helped to launch. Margaret H. Pinson leads the PSCR program’s CDVL efforts. See her ACM SIGMM interview, “An Interview with Video Quality Experts.”

Consumer Digital Video Library

» Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

» Special Interest Group on Multimedia

Highlights

✔ MAY 17, 2012 — “APCO Global Alliance Adopts LTE as International Public Safety Standard,” (APCO Global Alliance formally adopts LTE as the international public safety broadband standard), APCO Australasia, Press Release.

✔ MAY 15, 2012 — “APCO Partners with TETRA Group on Broadband,” (Groups to support PSCR efforts to establish public safety standards for LTE in the 3GPP), MissionCritical Communications.

✔ MAY 15, 2012 — “APCO, TETRA Association partner to support Public-Safety LTE Research,” (Groups stand behind PSCR efforts researching needs of first responders), Urgent Communications.

✔ APR 16, 2012 — “PSCR to Focus on Public-Safety Broadband Interoperability Tests,” (PSCR staffer, Emil Olbrich is quoted), MissionCritical Communications.

✔ APR 11, 2012 — “Zetron Supplies P25 Console to NTIA for Compliance Assessment Tests,” MissionCritical Communications.

Other highlights... | Press...

Upcoming

✔ Video Quality in Public Safety Workshop

Do you work with video technologies or have plans to use video in a public safety role?

» Join Us for the Fourth VQiPS Workshop JUL 26 – 27, 2012. Registration is free. Register by 5 PM EDT, JUN 27, 2012.

» Invitational travel available for practitioners. Information here.

The PSCR program provides research, development, testing, and evaluation to foster nationwide first-responder communications interoperability. The PSCR program provides insight to wireline and wireless standards committees developing standards for voice, data, image, and video communications.

Housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce Labs in Boulder, Colorado, the PSCR program is a joint effort between:

National Institute of Standards and Technology
Office of Law Enforcement Standards

National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences

The PSCR program has earned four U.S. Department of Commerce Medal Awards (two Gold, one Sliver, one Bronze) for the performance of applied engineering and research to advance public safety communications interoperability. The PSCR program’s engineering and research is sponsored by:

Department of Homeland Security
Office for Interoperability and Compatibility

Department of Justice
Community Oriented Policing Services