In a country that prides itself on being at the forefront of new technology, it is a wonder that police officers, firefighters and paramedics still largely rely on the good old-fashioned walkie-talkie.
Indeed, the average college student’s smartphone is many times more advanced than the technology used by the people called upon in an emergency.
To fix this, Raytheon Company and the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have partnered to create the UCLA Center for Public Safety and Network Systems.
Raytheon, a company that specializes in military weapons and missiles, has given UCLA $1 million to begin research in communications.
Though the company’s main focus is military technology, it has expanded to cover public safety as well.
UCLA’s research will be entirely devoted to creating more compatibility among branches of the public safety sector, such as fire, police and emergency health departments.
UCLA is trying to update 50-year-old technology like push-to-talk radios, said Kung Yao, a professor of electrical engineering and co-director of the new center.
“Right now, if a policeman from Santa Monica needs to get in touch to coordinate with a policeman from another department, he doesn’t use his radio, he uses his cellphone,” said Izhak Rubin, a professor of electrical engineering and the center’s other co-director.
UCLA was chosen over several other universities because of its experience with networking and communications, said Michael Bostic, the civil communications director at Raytheon and a retired captain of the Los Angeles Police Department.
When the software from one company cannot work with the hardware from another company, it forces consumers to buy from the same brand, Bostic said.
“Because of these little monopolies, what should be a $400 radio ends up costing $5,000,” he said.
During his time as a police officer, Bostic said he had to go out of his way to work with communication companies’ incompatibilities, and said he is relieved that technology is finally moving forward.
“As a cop who never had access to this kind of integration among the networks, I’m excited that we’re going to get something done for my buddies still in the force,” he said.
Part of UCLA’s job will be to figure out which systems work together and to create a less complicated means of communication, Bostic added.
UCLA students will also benefit from the partnership because it will introduce students to the corporate side of engineering through research and exposure to cutting edge technology, Rubin said.
The engineering departments at most universities tend to teach a theoretical approach to the subject. Partnerships with corporations such as Raytheon give students the chance to apply what they’ve learned during lectures, Yao said.
Raytheon will not determine what should be researched or published, Rubin said.
“This is a UCLA Center, not a Raytheon Center,” he said. “We will be in charge of the direction of study ““ Raytheon is just providing the money to expand the general knowledge in this area.”