
About Project54
The CATlab project is a collaborative research and development effort between
the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Department of Safety and
is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, through the effort and
continued support of Senator Judd Gregg. The faculty and students of CATlab
work on introducing advanced technologies into the operations of the New
Hampshire State Police and other law enforcement agencies.
Today's cruisers are equipped with digital radios, GPS units, computers,
radars, lights, sirens, etc. Dispatch centers have become computerized, and
officers on the beat and in offices access a variety of databases on a daily
basis. However, these devices are most often not designed to become a part of a
system of multiple devices manufactured by different companies--in other words
they are not designed with integration in mind.
The integration of devices and systems is the primary interest of CATlab. Most
of our work is done on integrating electronic devices in police cruisers. Our
integrated Project54 system allows officers to interact with equipment such as
lights and siren, radar, etc. using speech input and feedback. The Project54
system also integrates police cruisers into state-wide data networks. Our
system integration efforts include work on integrating the radio systems of
multiple agencies. Law enforcement, emergency, and other state and federal
agencies have radio systems, but they are often not able talk to each other
directly. We are creating an Internet-based system that will allow these
agencies to use their current radio equipment and have access to other
agencies' radio links.
|