SolaCom LAUNCHES LibertySHIELD INTO THE MILITARY MARKET
By Julian Nettlefold, Editor, BATTLESPACE
10 May 07. Franz Plangger, President of SolaCom Inc. the Canadian communications specialist gave BATTLESPACE Editor Julian Nettlefold a briefing on the company’s aspirations for its LibertySHIELD specialist switch in military markets.
“LibertySHIELD is already used in a number of international Air Traffic Control and Homeland Security applications,“ Plangger said. “We believe that the product addresses an urgent need in the military to enable networks to be integrated through one intelligent switch. LibertySHIELD has many applications but one key function is the systems ability to distribute UAV images in real time and allow for these to be received and analysed on a PDA at the front line. The flexibility and speed of the system can cut down manning levels for Command Posts and Ground Stations by as much as 75%. We see a very big demand for LibertySHIELD in security applications at the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics in particular.”
The LibertySHIELD provides dual functionality that is a turnkey,
first-to-market solution for integrated surveillance including video and sensors)
The LibertySHIELD enhances productivity of personnel by allowing real time collaboration of voice, data and video from other computers and PDAs, enhancing the value for money.
For turnkey surveillance LibertySHIELD provides: Fusion of information from voice/data/video and sensors into a common operational picture (COP); Video capture from UAVs; Personnel location and tracking mechanisms; Sensors mounted internally and externally along pipeline; Multiple videos hosted in towers; Synchronized record/playback of voice, data and video
For enhancing mobility LibertySHIELD provides: Interoperability and interconnectivity between various radios; Full built-in call and data processing ; Convergence of wireline, wireless and VoIP with same number portability; LEAP (Leave Existing & Add Preferred) functionality to transfer the session to other devices; Built-In role profile with carrier class reliability; Converged capability : reduces capital and operational expenditures.
Security systems include video surveillance cameras and monitoring consoles, intrusion detection, and access security devices. The LibertySHIELD uses convergence to simplify the traditional multi-network infrastructure, reducing capital and operational expenditures as well as improving productivity.
Solacom has appointed Larry Johnson CBE, the ex-supremo of GD(UK) as a consultant. “As soon as Franz rang me to discuss my involvement in the company I immediately saw the huge applications for LibertySHIELD in the system’s ability to manage the convergence of different technologies and communications protocols, we see opportunities at home and abroad in the defence sector, in the short time I have been involved we have received huge interest from a number of majors. A key feature of LibertySHIELD is in military ATC applications where a number of systems are already in use in the commercial field.”
Solacom is a privately held corporation headquartered in Canada’s national capital region, SolaCom has acquired more than 25 years of knowledge and experience engineering some of the world’s most advanced and reliable communication systems.
With the structure and broad expertise to execute customized solutions into a powerful set of communication tools, SolaCom enables interoperability over any network infrastructure in air traffic control, homeland security, public networks, military C4I, marine communication, emergency response, and other mission-critical applications.
Incorporated in 1998 as a separate operating company following a spin-off from CML Technologies, SolaCom pioneered many of the ideas used in today’s digital voice switch. In fact, SolaCom’s CEO built the first digital voice switch for air traff