IMDSS and MITOC Projects Demonstrated at the DHS S&T Expo

Date:  May 9, 2011

The IMDSS and MITOC projects was demonstrated at the DHS S&T Expo on April 28, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Capitol in Washington, DC. The Expo will demonstrated and displayed S&T Technologies that support our Citizens and First Responders when protecting, responding and recovering from hazards.

Mobile Information and Telecom Operations Center (MITOC)

MITOC is a pre-configured, low-cost, and easy to use emergency communications system.  It is totally independent from terrestrial power while offering robust communications viability.  MITOC has the capability to offer communication uplinks through existing wired, cellular, and satellite connections.  This gives versatility in the communications paths that may be required in getting mission critical communications out.  A WiFi network is also available to provide a network to all responders to an emergency event.  Thirty-five MITOC units are currently in operation with public health, higher education, public safety, fire safety, and mine safety.

The MITOC demonstration showed:

-          Off grid power capability -  battery - solar

-          WiFi for emergency responders

-          Alternative communications channels

-          VIOP phone capabilities

 Incident Management Decision Support System (IMDSS)

IMDSS delivers a web enabled software suite to collect, share and process data and events as they occur, providing situation awareness at the local emergency management level and incident management level.  IMDSS delivers near-real-time fusion of data from a variety of local sources providing the ability to monitor and respond to emergency situations in a timely fashion.

The Incident Management Decision Support System (IMDSS) is a software tool that organizes incident-related information for first-responders in rural environments — enabling them to save lives and protect property.

As a low-cost web-based application, IMDSS provides an intuitive interface designed for easy navigation, allowing users to quickly accomplish incident resolution tasks.

Whether used to communicate with personnel, organize a response, or get an accurate operational picture via real-time mapping, IMDSS removes barriers and speeds resource

The IMDSS demonstration included:

-          Incident overview

-          ICS Organization

-          Resources

-          Checklists

-          Alerts

-          Document management

-          Map interface

In the photo below, the MITOC unit.
 

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The Challenge

The task of assuring the security of our homeland involves protecting the citizens of the United States, the nation's critical infrastructure and key assets. This is necessary to sustain the nation's vitality against terrorism and other threats. This protection must originate at the community level. It requires discovering, developing and deploying new technology that will support first responders and key decision makers in local communities.

The Mission

NIHS' mission is to discover, develop and deploy solutions that protect and preserve the critical infrastructure of the nation's communities.

The Institute

NIHS aligns projects and research objectives with the needs and requirements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The strategy is to manage a distributed research enterprise that effectively transitions research and development into solutions. NIHS works with DHS to determine technology needs at the community level. Then, teams are quickly assembled from multiple universities to develop solutions to the needs.

The Strategy

Through management of the Kentucky Critical Infrastructure Protections Program (KCI), the National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS) provides an ongoing, integrated program dedicated to developing new technologies and devices. NIHS works through qualified academic institutions to accomplish the technological objectives.