Congresswoman tours Raytheon

DOWNEY - Raytheon officials granted Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard an exclusive tour of the 27,000-sqaure-foot Public Safety Regional Technology Center on Tuesday afternoon after the congresswoman expressed interest in learning more about the Downey facility's state-of-the-art technologies designed to help first-responders.Unable to attend last month's grand opening due to scheduling conflicts, Roybal-Allard, who represents the 34th congressional district, which includes Downey, was extended the opportunity to visit the public safety center, which serves as a test and research facility for the company's latest innovations in defense and communications. Guided by the center's director, Daniel De Sollar, the congresswoman first toured the operations room and its state-of-the-art dispatch console, which integrates and manages various communications programs, such as multi-channel teleconferences, video streaming, and tracking technologies, through one mega computer. Roybal-Allard, who sits on the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee, was also able to preview the one force tracker, a program that will one day allow every police officer and firefighter in the field to share media, mobile apps, and information in one 3G network. Raytheon also previewed the Boomerang Shooter Detection System, which listens for incoming fire and signifies where the shots are coming from, in addition to the innovative, hand-held Language Translations module that once spoken into can translate English into up to seven different languages. "This is fascinating," said Roybal-Allard who asked several questions during the tour. "I know the public is concerned about the cost of the technology used in Afghanistan, but it's important to show that a lot of that comes back domestically in a positive way and is translated to our local cities." Unlike its east coast counterpart in Raleigh, North Carolina, which focuses strictly on communications systems, the Downey-based public safety technology center, located at 11899 Woodruff Ave., serves as a western headquarters testing and designing defense tools, which directly benefit firefighters, soldiers, police officers and air traffic controllers alike.

********** Published: March 15, 2012 - Volume 10 - Issue 48