In our previous articles, A Three-Layered Approach to Creating Interoperability in Transportation and Public Safety and The Importance of Real-Time Situational Awareness in Public Safety and Transportation, we introduced real-time situational awareness, its impact on public safety and transportation, and the need for interoperability between data and systems. We also introduced the three-layered approach to achieving interoperability: data, integration, and presentation. This article focuses on designing an interoperability plan that can deliver the level of interoperability and real-time situational awareness necessary to enhance public safety and keep transportation running smoothly.
Envisioning the need for an interoperability plan starts with the conceptual model in Figure 1. In this model, field personnel must communicate with public safety, dispatch, operations, and fusion centers during an incident, while the public needs a way to receive critical information. Achieving this requires interoperability across systems and networks—starting with a well-designed plan.
Figure 1. Conceptual Operational Model
Before diving in, it’s important to understand that the right plan will connect the right people through reliable processes to well-designed and properly implemented technology. While learning to create this plan is an important first step, consulting professionals who understand the complexities of interoperability planning for your agency is essential. Their expertise will help you build a plan, overcome challenges in connecting siloed agencies, implement effectively, and refine as needed.
Let’s explore how to build each of the three layers—data, integration, and presentation—and how to begin implementing your plan.
Assess the Data Layer
In the three-layer interoperability model, the data layer serves as the foundation. Why do we start with this layer? For most organizations, building a system completely from the ground up isn’t cost effective or feasible. While a forklift upgrade is occasionally possible—where agencies purchase the same system to achieve interoperability—that approach still excludes agencies that are not part of the upgrade. The three-layer approach is preferable, positioning agencies to be interoperable with many other systems.
The three-layer model is a pragmatic approach to achieving interoperability with your existing data systems. Your first step is to assess the systems and data points already in place. In transportation and public safety, these data points might include the following:
- Radio network
- Highway video cameras
- Railway sensors
- Traffic signal systems
- Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers on vehicles
- Various smartphone applications
- In-car vehicle cameras
- Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems
- Fiber network
- Emergency alerting system
- Gun-detection system
- Cellular long term evolution (LTE) network
- Datacasting television distribution network
The purpose of assessing the data layer is to identify systems that generate useful data for real-time situational awareness (RTSA), whether for your agency or allied agencies. These systems must be incorporated into your three-layer model and ultimately be connected to the integration layer. They will also require communication paths between agencies and systems. This assessment helps a team better utilize the data it generates across existing systems within the agency while also providing valuable data to others outside of the agency.
A team experienced in building interoperability models for the transportation or public safety sectors can help identify key systems for RTSA. They can also facilitate communication between agencies to gather this information. Their expertise can help address concerns about what to include, what to exclude, and how much information to share.
Engineer the Implementation Layer
In no other layer will the right team be more vital. Ideally, all the identified systems and data would seamlessly integrate and function without disruption, but this isn’t feasible. Proprietary data formats, along with a lack of system-to-system communication paths and standardized processes and procedures for sharing data, make this impossible.
For example, you may be working with a system designed and implemented in the early 2000s and a database built in the 1980s—both of which need to communicate with the latest iPhone. To complicate matters further, iPhone users may be on different networks such as Verizon, Mint Mobile, or T-Mobile. This mix of data formats, information systems, communication networks, and service providers presents just some of the challenges you’re up against.
Once you’ve identified the systems in the data layer that need to integrate into the three-layer model, you can begin designing the connectors between them and building the integration layer “engines” that will deliver the five functions of the integration layer. Typically, this involves leveraging existing communication paths, security software, and authentication applications to provide the necessary functionality. The key challenge is orchestrating these solutions to achieve data sharing that leads to actionable information at the presentation layer.
To achieve true connectivity, you’ll need tools that deliver real solutions. These may include the following Skyline products and services:
Figure 2. Skyline Products and Services
Video Interoperability Services
Real-time situational awareness is becoming a necessity. However, video needs to be able to communicate with other services to be effective. Cloud-based video normalization, management, and sharing services enable seamless video sharing across existing systems. With the right solution, this can be both cost-effective and minimally disruptive to your current video management system.
On-Premise Video Streaming Solutions
To achieve interoperability that enables real-time situational awareness, streaming video should be part of your plan. There is no substitute for “getting eyes on the scene.” Choose a solution that delivers video appliances compatible with your existing environment. This approach helps keep costs low and improves system efficiency.
Web-Based HTML-Compliant User Portals
True interoperability ensures that those who need information can access it on their current systems. A solution delivering information from the integration layer should include video management and viewing portals. It should also allow end users to consume information on the latest devices with the most updated web standards.
Mobile Video Solutions
In the transportation and public safety sectors, vehicle-mounted cameras stream real-time information to operations centers. To ensure interoperability between agencies when needed, the chosen solution should provide live video and data feeds. Identifying who needs this information and how to provide it will be key to selecting the best solution for your team.
Live Streaming Protocol
One challenge of interoperability is the need for additional equipment to consume information. The right solution should deliver information without requiring extra equipment. Consider a service with browser-based technology that works without downloading additional applications, like a video player.
RESTful Application Programming Interface (API) Services
A representational state transfer (RESTful) API uses HTTP requests to access and input data, providing a faster, more scalable way to integrate video streams and associated metadata with third-party applications. A solution that delivers this functionality ensures you can share video data with third parties, giving your team access to information when they need it.
Building the integration layer requires an experienced team that understands common challenges, offers scalable solutions, and provides ongoing support. Achieving interoperability without this expertise can be daunting. To mitigate risks, improve efficiency, and maximize system effectiveness, a strong support team is essential for interoperability and real-time situational awareness.
Deliver the Presentation Layer
Ultimately, the data you are connecting must reach the right people in a timely manner and in a way they can consume. Keeping in mind who will need the information and how they will consume it ensures you’re on the right track to creating a cohesive interoperability plan. For public safety, this includes getting information to first responders in the field during an emergency. For transportation, it includes delivering real-time information on the transportation system status to its various partners and the public. For both communities, it includes sharing information with governing officials and agency leadership, who are the decision-makers.
Beyond knowing who will need access to information, you’ll need a firm grasp of how they will consume that information. Will that be through an app on their phone, a laptop/mobile data terminal, or a desktop computer? Will it be delivered into a Linux or Windows environment? How will they view the information to make decisions?
As an example, consider the Department of Homeland Security’s view of the LTE Transport Function. In this diagram, you can see where information is stored, how it is delivered, and how it is consumed. A similar diagram for your organization will help you understand who needs what information, when they need it, and how it should be delivered. The team you select will help you build a similar diagram, identifying every pertinent connection point and suggesting delivery systems.
Figure 3. DHS View of the LTE Transport Function
Delivering the information is the final piece in the interoperability puzzle. Leveraging the power of smartphones and the rich application environment available provides powerful capabilities for analytics and decision support. Skillfully connecting to the presentation layer ensures the delivery of the RTSA needed. Few teams have experience delivering solutions for this layer, yet it is arguably the most critical in a real-time situation.
Implement the Plan
If you’ve selected the right team to help build your plan, implementation becomes far more effective and much less disruptive to your current systems. With solutions tailored to your agency’s needs, you can deliver data to a wide range of consumers—including the public, first responders, and the news media— when needed and in a format they can easily consume.
Skyline’s video-sharing solution is designed according to the three-layer principles, as shown below. In this illustration, the data layer is on the left, the integration layer is in the middle, and the presentation layer is on the right.
Figure 4. Elegant Approach to a Complex Problem
Keep in mind that people ultimately hold, share, and consume information. The right plan considers each individual and agency affected by the change, ensuring implementation addresses all stakeholders’ needs and concerns. By starting with people, you can develop processes that support them and then build the right technology to reinforce those processes.
Skyline Technology Solutions Can Help!
Solving interoperability challenges and achieving real-time situational awareness requires creating architectural solutions based on the ability to share information. At Skyline, our innovative solutions for smart public safety and transportation technologies will help enhance situational awareness in ways that traditional operational models and infrastructure systems cannot.
To learn more about how Skyline can help you advance your interoperability and real-time situational awareness through an integrated system, contact us.
John Contestabile, Director, Public Safety Solutions