Public safety threats can range from the most serious of incidents like natural disasters and terrorist attacks to more routine issues such as crowd control or patrolling a neighborhood.
No matter the scenario, stakeholders in public safety need accurate real-time information combined with accessible and reliable communications.
That’s why public safety teams rely on a new generation of technology. These devices have changed how public safety officials do their jobs, allowing them to be more proactive and responsive.
But the types of data-intensive technology in use today require a reliable network to support them. Rajant Kinetic Mesh is a private wireless mesh network that supports video, voice, and data transmission between connected public safety devices. Its self-healing design adapts communication paths as devices move or connections change, helping teams maintain real-time situational awareness. Below, we explore the technologies driving network demand and how Rajant supports them.
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Mobile drone and robotic technologies create new possibilities
Security cameras are no longer just static devices mounted at a fixed location. In addition to body cams, we now see cameras mounted on drones and integrated within roving security robots.
Drones give public safety teams an aerial view of an incident to help keep personnel farther from danger. Common uses include:
- Search and rescue: Locate missing people, survey difficult terrain, and use thermal cameras to help identify people at night.
- Fire response: Identify hot spots, monitor fire spread, and help commanders determine where to direct crews more safely.
- Disaster assessment: Survey flood zones, storm damage, and areas that responders cannot easily reach.
- Crash and crime scene documentation: Capture aerial photographs and mapping data for investigations and scene reconstruction.
- Tactical support: Provide an overhead view of dangerous situations to help officers assess conditions before approaching.
- Large-event safety: Help teams assess crowd conditions, traffic, and emergency access routes.
- Drone as first responder programs: Reach an incident ahead of ground crews and relay information that helps dispatchers and responding personnel assess what resources are needed.
Drones and robots are also useful for other purposes, helping handle tasks or enter areas that would be unsafe for humans. A human-controlled robot can inspect suspicious objects, handle hazardous materials, and disable explosive devices, for example.
A reliable connection is a critical aspect of video and telemetry transmission from these devices. It allows incident commanders and field teams to see what the drone or robot sees in real time, using live video stream, thermal imagery, and location data to coordinate their response.
High-resolution video captures evidence and informs investigations
Video footage can provide critical information when responding to an incident, but poor image quality can put people and an investigation at risk.
That’s why public safety teams are investing in high-resolution cameras to capture critical details, such as:
- Identifying a vehicle make, model, color, license plate and other identifying information
- Identifying a suspect’s features clearly
- Assessing hazards in confined or open areas
- Documenting evidence
Whether mounted on a building, emergency vehicle, or drone, high-resolution cameras give responders and incident commanders a clearer view of unfolding events. Our technology can transmit full-frame, high-resolution video back to a security operations center to be viewed, managed, and searched just like any other camera.
But greater image detail also increases network demands. At comparable frame rates and compression settings, higher-resolution video requires more data to be transmitted every second, consuming more bandwidth. Multiply that demand across numerous cameras streaming across networks simultaneously combined with data from sensors and other IoT devices, and it’s easy to see why reliable connectivity without freezes, delays, or lost detail is essential.
Data-intensive IoT applications can congest networks
Beyond cameras, drones, and robots, a growing range of connected IoT devices feeds data into public safety systems. But the number of those devices and their uses have expanded exponentially in recent years.
IoT and connected application examples:
- High-throughput scanning to remove bottlenecks at checkpoints
- Metal and explosive detection systems placed at building entrances
- Facial recognition software
- Biometric access control used to grant entry to secure locations
- Thermal imaging cameras to help find lost individuals or suspects
- Parking meters
- Flood sensors
- Hazardous gas and chemical detectors
- Air quality monitors and vape detectors
- Patient monitors and cardiac monitors used by EMS
- License plate recognition (LPR) cameras
- GPS tracking devices
- Gunshot detection sensors
The list goes on. The proliferation of these IoT devices combined with simultaneous video streams and mobile operations can strain traditional networks that lack sufficient capacity or coverage.
Public safety teams must rely on specialized networks that can handle critical data without failure.
How to overcome the challenge of transmitting vast amounts of data in real time
These data-intensive technologies cannot be supported without access to a robust, highly-secure network that:
- Is easily deployed and managed
- Offers fail-safe redundancy
- Delivers the speed and bandwidth to support all necessary systems and communication channels
Cellular signals can be limited, and they can become congested during emergencies or large gatherings when thousands of people compete for limited network capacity. Additionally, a large number of devices and the amount of data these systems must transmit gets expensive very quickly.
By contrast, wireless Rajant Kinetic Mesh allows devices to communicate through multiple paths, automatically adapting as conditions change, and:
- Creates a cohesive network
- Has no recurring subscription or data use fees (service plans available)
- Is easily scalable
- Can be quickly deployed
- Provides consistent, reliable coverage over areas of any size and topography
For teams using drones, robots, and emergency vehicles, connectivity must adapt as devices move. Rajant’s BreadCrumb nodes and InstaMesh software dynamically adjust transmission paths as network conditions change, helping maintain connections between moving assets and incident command.
Security is equally important when transmitting sensitive video, location data, and other public safety information. Rajant supports encryption and authentication capabilities that help protect data in transit and guard against unauthorized access.
Choose a reliable network from a reliable team
Solutions like drones, high-resolution cameras, and IoT devices are gaining traction so quickly because we now have wireless networking capabilities like Rajant Kinetic Mesh to support them.
At BAYCOM, our team can help you design and deploy a network that effortlessly handles your data today and can scale as technologies evolve. Contact the BAYCOM team of experts to learn more.
