Critical Communication
Rochester Institute of Technology, Fall 2023
Problem Statement
Security response teams at U.S. government diplomatic and consular facilities need to have simultaneous secure, reliable, and mobile routes of communication during threat incidents in order to avoid misunderstandings and confusion to avoid lost lives.
Problem Scoping and Discovery
The team conducted 47 discovery interviews and gained the following insights:
The problem can be broken down into several parts including poor reception inside buildings, lack of written record for radio communications, and language barriers between Department of State personnel and local forces and staff.
Different posts have to deal with different barriers to communication including host nation-specific red tape, regional requirements, and communication limitations.
Training all users on a new communication system would be taxing on time and resources, so any solution should be intuitive and require minimal training.
Solution Proposed
The team proposed two solutions: short-range radio repeaters and a digital radio protocol. The repeaters provide radio coverage within a certain radius, while the digital protocol eliminates garbled transmissions. They aim for 100% outdoor radio coverage and 95% indoor coverage. Their solution would require no additional training for the end user.
Results
The sponsor plans on reaching out to his network of Regional Security Officers to find a volunteer post to pilot the solution.