DALLAS -- Initiative designed by the University of Houston's - Houston InfoComm Technology Center to Increase Threat Detection and Prevention Capability.
OptiSoft, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent traffic signal (ITS) systems, announced it has been named to a consortium of public and private sector organizations by the University of Houston's InfoComm Technology (HIT) Center as a participating member in its regional testbed and interoperability (HIT SensorNet) initiative.
Within the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area, the HIT SensorNet initiative will provide an environment within which validation, development, testing and deployment of tactical and strategic sensor-based detection, analysis, mobilization, and control capabilities will occur. Funded by local, state and federal grants, the HIT effort will create interoperable systems and an information sharing infrastructure that will be used by multiple agencies. These systems would then be made available for use in other regions.
"We are proud to be part of this cutting-edge program and pleased to be selected as a platform within which sensors will be tested, validated, researched and developed throughout Greater Houston," said Ted Enloe, president and CEO of OptiSoft. "By using the OptiSoft ITS system for deployment of these sensor-based detection units and the embedded video cameras in the ITS platform to identify and assess the detected threats, this type of project is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the value in today's world of an intelligent traffic signal platform. In addition, the OptiSoft ITS Platform can save millions of dollars in electricity costs with its LED-based illumination technology that uses 95% less energy than traffic signals with incandescent bulbs."
"The HIT SensorNet initiative is a shining example of a public-private partnership," said Patrick Bellamy, Director/Founder, HIT Center. "This program leverages collaboration within information, telecommunications, transportation and technology sectors for a premier first response threat prevention and detection system,"
Specifically, the HIT SensorNet initiative proposes to assist in the validation and integration of sensor-based public safety technologies, communications and internetworking standards that will link disparate networks using Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) capabilities, the Internet Protocol (IP) and other standardized protocols via wired/wireless/meshed internetworking systems operating within the envelope of Project 25 (P25) radio and data compatibilities. These will allow personnel and systems to detect and receive emergency response-oriented information, communicate and make critical preventive/predictive life-saving decisions on demand and in real time.
The OptiSoft ITS Platform - with its combination of acoustic, chemical, gas, and nuclear sensors - can be the heart of such regional interoperability systems. The OptiSoft embedded video cameras and sensors provide both visual monitoring and sensor threat detection, making it a key component for an effective SensorNet system. OptiSoft is already deployed in 25+ municipalities including local pilots within the City of Houston and Harris County, Texas.
