Proven Technology to Serve Boston Police Department
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Visteon Demonstrates New Law Enforcement Technology
at Annual Police Chiefs Conference
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Michigan — Visteon Corporation’s TACNET™ is under field test evaluation by the Boston Police Department. The system has features specifically designed for the Department, improving inter-agency communication and the safety of law enforcement officers. TACNET™ is a cost-effective solution for law enforcement agencies and emergency response teams looking to improve inter-agency communications, efficiency, and in-vehicle officer safety.
TACNET™ improves officer safety by dramatically reducing the number of devices installed in the police car interior. For example, it integrates lights, sirens, multiple radios, radar, patrol video, AM/FM radio functions, and mobile data computers. TACNET™ also gives officers command and control options by integrating the numerous switches and electronic equipment controls into three primary interfaces: voice control, in-dash touch screen, and an ergonomically designed control “pod.” This flexibility allows law enforcement agencies to configure control functions to meet their needs best.
Many law enforcement vehicles require multiple radios, laptops, and other communications equipment for officers to speak to each other, firefighters, and emergency response teams in emergencies. Some law enforcement agencies have up to five individual radio units to meet their daily communications needs. Boston Police Department collaborated with Visteon to ensure the systems’ open architecture allowed seamless integration of leading products into the flexible platform and featured plug-and-play expansion capability. This enables TACNET-outfitted vehicles to incorporate new technology quickly.
By integrating the radio control functions into one interoperable system, TACNET™ can improve inter-agency communication and accelerate emergency responses. TACNET™ can serve as a cross-band repeater linking up to five different radios. The repeater capability can be more efficient than the current practice of managing incoming radio frequencies individually.
TACNET™ draws on Visteon’s expertise in digital signal processing to manage the differing frequencies of radio transmissions. TACNET™ can receive radio transmissions, mix the signals, prioritize them, and then play them on specific vehicle speakers to aid identification. TACNET™ even allows muting other signs when a priority transmission occurs.
In another press release on the same date, Visteon also announced the following:
Visteon Demonstrates New Law Enforcement Technology at Annual Police Chiefs Conference
Visteon Corporation is committed to advancing law enforcement technology by rapidly implementing system upgrades and enhancements. In less than two months, Visteon’s systems integration and automotive electronics expertise will deliver communication enhancements and system upgrades to the law enforcement community. These capabilities will be demonstrated at the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference on November 13-15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (booth 2059) in Los Angeles, CA.
The upgrades and enhancements include a new application computer, additional radio control, and an interface to law enforcement software products. The new processor allows law enforcement agencies to run complex software for digital video systems and increases information processing speed. This vehicle-hardened computer will use a state-of-the-art mobile microprocessor with improved performance over a Pentium IV-type microprocessor. The technology will include a 1.7 GHz and 512 MB RAM, and a 40GB hard drive. The new processor can help officers respond quickly to emergencies through automatic vehicle location (AVL) software. In addition, Visteon’s systems integration capability allows AVL and other software to work together, helping reduce the time it takes for an officer to look up and get directions to addresses and specific routing information.
In addition, cooperation between Visteon and its alliance partner, Bio-Key, Inc., formerly Aether systems, resulted in the integration of Packet Cluster(R) Patrol(TM) software to take advantage of TACNET capabilities, sending a variety of critical information to TACNET’s head-up display and fundamental data to the TACNET screen. TACNET voice commands are now used to control Packet Cluster software. For example, TACNET voice recognition technology can now wirelessly enter license plate numbers into the software package, responding with critical information on TACNET’s head-up display. This new feature allows officers to get the information they need while keeping their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
Finally, Visteon’s TACNET(TM) system will control Motorola’s primary state-of-the-art law enforcement-grade radios using analog or digital signals.
Source for both: Visteon Corporation