While the likes of Kate Winslet, Sean Penn and the
creators of Slumdog Millionaire walked the
red carpet into Oscars lore, APL technology was
working behind the scenes to make sure that security
and safety accompanied glitz and glamour at this year's
Academy Awards.
The Feb. 22 ceremony in Los Angeles provided a unique
opportunity to test a follow-on project
to the APL-developed Critical Infrastructure Inspection
Management System, or CIIMS. LA Shield
expands the computer-based tool's aerial inspection
capability to include ground inspections of
buildings, bridges, dams and power plants, making it
especially useful during special events.
Running on a notebook-sized computer loaded with
enhanced CIIMS software, LA Shield
provides the Los Angeles Police Department with images,
geographic coordinates and inspection-
related information to assess the security of
infrastructures.
"It was the first time the software had been used for
a special event of this significance," said
Mark Gabriele, CIIMS/LA Shield project manager within APL's
National Security Technology
Department. "Since LAPD established its own wireless node
for enhanced communications during the
awards, we were able to communicate with LA Shield
computers while in the air. This allowed us to
change metrics and inspection priorities, and synchronize
data during patrols with the database in the
command center. Everything worked exactly as it was
designed."
APL's willingness to adapt the technology to the
police department's needs and provide technical
guidance was key to this effort's success, Gabriele said.
"When we began working with the LAPD last
summer, we determined what they needed the software
displays to look like and what information
and/or forms they needed for inspections. By creating an
electronic version of one of their
vulnerability assessment forms, we replaced about 25 pieces
of paper [that] officers formerly used
during inspections."
Software engineers Jeff Brush and Matt Smith from
APL's Applied Information Sciences
Department provided technical support before and during the
Academy Awards.
During pretest checkouts, they consulted with aviation
crews to verify the accuracy of maps
loaded into the software, confirm that the system was ready
for use and coached LAPD officer Mike
Barz on how to load metrics, forms, visuals and GPS
coordinates into the LA Shield database, enabling
him to monitor the event's final aerial security patrols on
his own.
During the awards, Brush, technical lead for the
CIIMS/LA Shield project, was assigned to the
command post and Smith to the patrol aircraft. Brush said
that the feedback from LAPD's aviation
and critical infrastructure inspection teams was very
positive.
APL is modifying the technology for patrol cars and
for GPS-enabled hand-held devices —
including compact computers, PDAs and cell phones —
so that Los Angeles firefighters can efficiently
disseminate data to emergency management personnel when
assessing damage after catastrophic
events such as earthquakes. "This modification should also
help us expand the technology to boat and
foot patrols," Gabriele said.
The Maryland State Police, which tested the original
CIIMS technology in 2007, is also
receiving the software upgrades developed through LA
Shield.
Since the CIIMS-based software is intended for use as
a data collection application for
intelligence information, the APL team didn't envision the
technology being used for a special event
like the Academy Awards. "But it worked extremely well,"
Gabriele said, "and through this we've
learned that the CIIMS technology has the capability to
grow."
CIIMS is funded by the Command, Control and
Interoperability Division of the Department of
Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate.
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