cellblock776
Member
I've already posted this in my Scan Baton Rouge group but thought I'd cross post it here.
Steve, KC5SAS
Moderator of Scan Baton Rouge,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scanbatonrouge
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EBR to test radio communications
Software designed to make systems compatible
By GERARD SHIELDS
gshields@theadvocate.com
Advocate Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- Baton Rouge will be the test site for a new technology aimed at solving one of the biggest problems in homeland defense: radio communication.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness will partner with Tulane University to try new computer software designed to make various communications systems instantly compatible.
If the pilot program is a success, the service will be expanded to an eight-parish region surrounding the city before being installed statewide.
"We are hoping that it is going to be groundbreaking technology," said Bob Keaton, a consultant working for the state Senate.
Grant K. Holcomb, director of Biomedical Informatics at the Tulane Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Prevention at the Tulane Health Science Center, is the architect of the software called Coherent Informatics. Holcomb could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but issued a statement praising the experiment.
"Baton Rouge, La., is the ideal location to test this pilot," Holcomb said. "The level of cooperation between agencies is like no other place in the nation."
A commission recently investigating the events of Sept. 11, 2001, reported that the lack of communication between departments hampered rescue efforts. Rescue teams were unable to communicate with each other, preventing them from knowing what was taking place on other floors or buildings, the commission found.
Under the Coherent Informatics system, the software would instantly allow inter-agency communication on everything from radios to Palm Pilot handheld computers.
JoAnne Moreau, director of the East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Office of Preparedness, said the city has invested $100,000 in fiber-optic connections that will be used for the project.
Communications will be set up with 10 agencies that include two hospitals, the Louisiana National Guard, the State Police and the National Weather Service, Moreau said.
"It's very exciting," Moreau said. "Through any kind of event, one issue is communication. It's the No. 1 priority of the country."
Industries, such as IBM, have also expressed an interest in the program, Moreau said.
Drew Tessier, executive assistant for Mayor Bobby Simpson, credited Moreau's organization for attracting interest in the project.
"The level of cooperation that she has going on with the surrounding eight or nine parishes and State Police is unbelievable," Tessier said.
If the project is successful, Baton Rouge could become a national example of homeland defense communication and coordination, Tessier said.
"We're trying to position ourselves as the go-to place for homeland defense policies and procedures," he said.
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/060904/new_radiotest001.shtml
Steve, KC5SAS
Moderator of Scan Baton Rouge,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scanbatonrouge
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EBR to test radio communications
Software designed to make systems compatible
By GERARD SHIELDS
gshields@theadvocate.com
Advocate Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- Baton Rouge will be the test site for a new technology aimed at solving one of the biggest problems in homeland defense: radio communication.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness will partner with Tulane University to try new computer software designed to make various communications systems instantly compatible.
If the pilot program is a success, the service will be expanded to an eight-parish region surrounding the city before being installed statewide.
"We are hoping that it is going to be groundbreaking technology," said Bob Keaton, a consultant working for the state Senate.
Grant K. Holcomb, director of Biomedical Informatics at the Tulane Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Prevention at the Tulane Health Science Center, is the architect of the software called Coherent Informatics. Holcomb could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but issued a statement praising the experiment.
"Baton Rouge, La., is the ideal location to test this pilot," Holcomb said. "The level of cooperation between agencies is like no other place in the nation."
A commission recently investigating the events of Sept. 11, 2001, reported that the lack of communication between departments hampered rescue efforts. Rescue teams were unable to communicate with each other, preventing them from knowing what was taking place on other floors or buildings, the commission found.
Under the Coherent Informatics system, the software would instantly allow inter-agency communication on everything from radios to Palm Pilot handheld computers.
JoAnne Moreau, director of the East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Office of Preparedness, said the city has invested $100,000 in fiber-optic connections that will be used for the project.
Communications will be set up with 10 agencies that include two hospitals, the Louisiana National Guard, the State Police and the National Weather Service, Moreau said.
"It's very exciting," Moreau said. "Through any kind of event, one issue is communication. It's the No. 1 priority of the country."
Industries, such as IBM, have also expressed an interest in the program, Moreau said.
Drew Tessier, executive assistant for Mayor Bobby Simpson, credited Moreau's organization for attracting interest in the project.
"The level of cooperation that she has going on with the surrounding eight or nine parishes and State Police is unbelievable," Tessier said.
If the project is successful, Baton Rouge could become a national example of homeland defense communication and coordination, Tessier said.
"We're trying to position ourselves as the go-to place for homeland defense policies and procedures," he said.
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/060904/new_radiotest001.shtml
