|
|
| Radioear Bone Conduction Headsets Assisted by OLETC |
| By The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization |
| Published: 09/12/2003 |
|
This article was reprinted with permission from The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization. A version of this article can be found on the OLETC website at www.oletc.org/technologies/radioear.asp An officer has been taken hostage on Cell Block B. Negotiation attempts have failed and the SORT team [Special Operations Response Team] is called in. The team, in full riot gear, including helmets with face shields and gas masks, will move in fast, armed with gas grenades and flashbangs. It is crucial that the team follow the SORT commander's directions exactly and simultaneously, but the clamor of shouting and banging in the steel and concrete cell block makes communication of any kind difficult. Imagine a radio headset that would allow this SORT commander to speak in a voice no louder than a whisper that will be clearly heard by only the team. The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC) and the Fire Fighting Task Force (FFTF) are helping to make this possibility a reality for law enforcement and corrections officers and firefighters. The Radioear headset enables hands-free communication over very high noise levels through the use of bone conduction technology. 'You literally hear with your bones,' says Harold Holsopple, President, Sensory Devices, Inc., and the manufacturer of the Radioear headsets. Sensory Devices developed Radioear headsets, using technology originally developed for the U.S. Navy SEALS to communicate underwater during Operation Desert Storm. The headset works with any two-way radio. Hearing through bone conduction is perceived in exactly the same way as hearing through the ears. With airborne sound, when someone speaks, the sound vibrates the air, sending out sound waves in all directions. When the sound waves enter the ear, they vibrate the ear drum which vibrates the small bones of the inner ear. These vibrations are translated into nerve impulses that are interpreted as sound by the brain. With bone conduction, the vibration bypasses the outer ear, sending and receiving audio signals via vibrations in the skull or cheek bones instead. The headset is worn with the transmitter and receiver placed against the cheek and jaw bones, leaving the ears either uncovered and alert to surrounding sounds, or covered and protected against background noise. The perception of speaking and hearing is exactly the same as in normal conversation. Because the microphone and receiver work by 'hearing' with the bone structure of the head, tactical officers who don't want to be heard by suspects can communicate with each other in a hushed whisper that is easily heard by other members of the team. And, because sound is transmitted through the bones, in situations with very high noise levels like a prison riot or a raging fire, officers can maintain lifesaving, clear radio communication with each other with minimum interference from ambient noise. The bone conduction technology used in the headsets has been licensed and is being commercialized for the public safety market through the joint efforts of OLETC, FFTF, and Sensory Devices, Inc. OLETC, a program of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), helps to commercialize innovative technology that will enable law enforcement and corrections officers to do their jobs more efficiently and safely. OLETC provides market research and evaluation; application and competitive analysis; and information on intellectual property, licensing, strategic partnerships, and capital formation. It also evaluates proposed technologies, provide operational demonstration opportunities, and coach participants in project management and commercialization planning. Another avenue for targeted market research and for demonstrating what technology can do is the Mock Prison Riot, held annually in a West Virginia Penitentiary that closed in 1995. The riot brings in hundreds of corrections officers and tactical teams to wear, handle, use, and evaluate new technologies in a number of authentic riot situations. In fact, Mock Prison Riot 2000 was the starting point for OLETC's participation in the commercialization of Radioear headsets. When Robert Saba, Fire Fighting Task Force (FFTF) Coordinator, realized how valuable this hands-free communication could be for corrections and law enforcement as well as firefighters, he invited Sensory Devices to demonstrate the headsets at the riot. Although FFTF's original mission was to develop technologies for firefighters, it has since developed a formal relationship between OLETC, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and the Center for Technology Commercialization to include the needs of law enforcement and corrections. FFTF identifies technologies in Federal labs, academia, and industry that can be further developed into commercially affordable products that enhance the safety of public safety professionals. Congress encourages this transfer of technology developed with Federal dollars to benefit society. In searching for potential technologies, Saba visited the U.S. Naval Coastal Systems Station in Panama City, Florida, and immediately recognized the potential of the bone conduction technology, which was invented by Frank Downs for the SEALS and patented by the U.S. Navy. In early 1998, Saba and Downs brought a prototype head contact microphone that had been incorporated into a firefighter's helmet to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for feedback from potential users. The technology had been vividly demonstrated at a Metropolitan Fire Chiefs' Conference in San Diego, California, when a fire company created 110 decibels of noise by running a chain saw, a pumper, and other equipment outside the hotel where the conference was taking place. Standing outside, a firefighter speaking into a standard radio was unintelligible to the listeners in the hotel, but when he spoke while wearing the prototype head contact microphone, he was easily understood. Sensory Devices contacted Saba after reading about the prototype helmet in a newspaper article. In July 1998, they began licensing discussions and negotiations with the Navy and were licensed to develop and manufacture the piezoelectric microphone by April 1999. The Technology Sensory Devices' original headset designs utilized electromagnetic bone vibration for reception-based on the company's own 1950 invention of the electromechanical bone vibrator-but had always relied upon air microphones for transmission. What is brand new and key to the Radioear headset is the piezoelectric bone conduction microphone, says Holsopple. Piezoelectric materials generate an electrical voltage when their surfaces are stretched or compressed as a result of vibration. If a voltage is applied, the material expands and contracts producing vibration. Piezoelectric devices like buzzers have been around for many years, but it wasn't until the development of newer materials that rugged, reliable devices like the head contact microphone were possible. The Radioear headset works with both types of bone conduction technologies. The microphone uses the piezoelectric device, while the electromagnetic bone conduction speaker incorporates an electric motor that causes it to vibrate as it receives a signal. The introduction of the Radioear headsets at the Mock Prison Riot was positive beyond expectation. 'We did demonstration after demonstration,' Holsopple says. The Minnesota Department of Corrections ordered a number of the devices to try in their system and have since ordered more. Lieutenant Carol Krippner, SORT Commander for Minnesota's St. Cloud Facility, has used the headsets in training. 'The ability to communicate quietly, without open mikes, in a stealthy entry like a hostage situation is important. The team can be right on the other side of the wall from the inmates, getting directives from a commander. They know when they're given the green light to go in, and there's no beeps or feedback that you'd have on the open mike to alert the inmates,' she says. Conversely in dynamic entries where there's a lot of noise, flashbangs, smoke, and lack of visual contact, Krippner says, the team leaders can still communicate without problems. Sensory Devices brought the headsets back to the OLETC Mock Prison Riots 2001 and 2002, and 2003, and showcased their headsets in riot scenarios. Sensory Devices will provide Radioear headsets for a free 30-day demonstration period to interested departments. Radioear has recently received an order for 100 head mounted communication devices from the Minnesota Corrections Department. For more information, contact OLETC at www.oletc.org |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think