Lab Develops and Deploys Network of Surveillance

Oakland Tribune | August 5 2004

LIVERMORE -- Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and the Livermore Police Department are working together to develop and deploy a high-tech sensory system that would not be out of place in the world of James Bond.

Designed to keep the public safe in the event of a terrorist attack, the complex detection system -- a network of environmental detectors and high-resolution video cameras -- was put through its paces over the Fourth of July weekend at Robertson Park.

The detectors and video equipment were supplemented by a mobile sensor that monitors temperature and wind velocity. Collected information was then sent -- via an encrypted and wireless transmission system -- to a communications network that allowed Livermore Police and Sandia personnel to monitor conditions at the event in near-real time.

The surveillance cameras provided police and event coordinators with a limited view of the event, focusing on the stage and a remote parking area.

"We don't want to give the impression this is Big Brother," Sandia spokesman Mike Janes said.

The idea behind the system is to bring a wide range of sensors -- biological, chemical and radiological -- together and connect them with a central command post where police and fire departments can monitor the information, said Heidi Ammerlahn, a computer scientist at Sandia.

In the event of a terrorist attack, the sensors can relay to authorities what hazardous agents are being deployed and help determine "what the possible courses of action might be," Ammerlahn said.

In the post-9/11 world, there is definitely a heightened awareness of chemical and biological threats, Ammerlahn said.

The system is a concept that has evolved from a line of work Sandia has done to bolster homeland security.

"Sandia has been working on homeland security issues before 9/11," Janes said. "We have programs in chemical and biological countermeasures, as well as radiological nuclear countermeasures."

Janes said Sandia has work-

ed with San Francisco International Airport on its emergency planning and its chemical and biological detection systems.

"One of our priorities now -- and we're moving aggressively into it -- is working with regional authorities," Janes said. "We're working with first responders, people like the Livermore Police Department and fire departments."

Greg Park, the Livermore Police Department's information technology coordinator, said the system "will be deployed so we have a good sense of what is happening in relation to terrorists and weapons of mass destruction."

"This isn't something you fix to a light pole and then leave it there," Park said. "We deploy it at a special event, break it down and then move on to the next event."

The Fourth of July test-run of what is being called "sensor management architecture" did more than ensure the technology was sound, officials said.

"It allowed us to make sure the device fits in with our type of structure -- how we manage a scene and collect data," said Livermore Police Lt. Scott Trudeau, adding the system will be employed to monitor events of all sizes.

"In the past, we've had presidential visits to the city and surrounding areas. These are events where you know there is the potential for someone to come into the location with devices this system can pick up on," Trudeau said. "It can also help us on those occasions where something has already happened. We can track what has been released and how far it's spread."

Ammerlahn said the system -- part of a multi-million-dollar program supported by the Department of Homeland Security -- will be ready for full-time deployment in the very near future.

"The technology has been proved out," she said. "But you can't just develop technology -- you have to make sure it works will with the operations of various agencies."