How This Team Is Championing A Safer Dallas Through Technology
In the face of any crisis, it is critical that first responders across various departments have an effective method of communication that is both swift and secure. Project 25 (P25) radio systems have been known to support seamless two-way digital communication among public safety officials. The P25 standards ensure interoperability and greater encryption in the course of transmitting data between devices. By fostering a closer connection between public safety professionals, systems such as the P25 radio network have become sort of a lifeline, without which safeguarding lives will be all the more challenging.
The City of Dallas recognized the need for a more modern and robust radio system to assist protective workers in carrying out their duties. “We’ve had a huge multi-million dollar project going on for the past few years. The goal has really been to upgrade, update, and expand our P25 radio network.” Amanda Nabours said. As an IT Architect for the City of Dallas who also chairs the newly formed Emerging Technology Advisory Panel, Amanda spends a lot of time thinking about innovative ways to apply solutions to some organizational challenges. One of such challenges was the difficulty in visualizing and communicating how the newly improved P25 radio network works and what role it would play in enhancing public safety. “When you’re putting that magnitude of investment into a complex technological project, you really have to explain it to stakeholders and it was a little difficult to do so. Having a digital twin to help visualize the network’s functionality and highlight how it differs from a cell phone was really attractive.”
The North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA) led by Jennifer Sanders is driven by its mission to collaboratively utilize data, technology and community to create solutions that improve quality of life, drive inclusive economic development and promote resource efficiency. Having partnered with the City of Dallas on numerous projects, the NTXIA team was able to provide additional resources for the P25 public safety radio project through a hands-on academic program called the UTDesign Capstone.
The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at UT Dallas runs an intensive capstone program that provides seniors with a unique opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from the classroom to a real-life business scenario. Students are tasked with proffering solutions, building and implementing innovative ideas that help corporations or organizations achieve their goals. For Elydn Castillo, Vishnu Yarabarla, Alan Alvarado-Camacho, Eric Cutherell, Jarrett Bigley and Nishanth Lam, collaborating with the City of Dallas to create an aesthetically-pleasing digital simulation of the P25 radio network was quite a worthwhile experience. “It was really interesting to apply all we’ve learned in these past four years to create something valuable for the City of Dallas.” Elydn Castillo said.
By utilizing their foundational programming and software engineering knowledge gained in the classroom, the team was able to navigate their way around other new and relevant applications needed to successfully bring the project to life. “Technically, the team was awesome, they knew about newer technologies that we at the city hadn’t used. And so we were learning from them about the best way to deliver this product. They learned a very large scope of information about P25 from our subject matter experts really quickly, so that was really impressive. Additionally, it was really nice to see their growth as professionals from the beginning of the project to the end.” Amanda Nabours stated.
The team of Computer Science students created a 3D model of the City of Dallas and used a software solution to graphically depict how the radio signals propagate across multiple towers with the end goal of simplifying the concept behind the P25 radio system and ensuring that the project remains well-funded to enhance optimal communication among first responders and ultimately enhance the safety of all Dallas residents.
“The Dallas and NTXIA teams had a wonderful experience working with the students for our UTDesign Capstone project. The digital twin concept is a burgeoning tool being used by local governments, and the benefit of a stronger understanding of how these are built and the potential value in expanding and replicating the digital twin tool is invaluable. The public sector has to be very discerning in investments, particularly in emerging technologies, and programs like UTDesign are a phenomenal resource in evaluation. We look forward to continuing relationships with the program and additional projects of benefit for the region.” Jennifer Sanders commented.
Bill Zielinski, who is the Chief Information Officer at the City of Dallas also praised the program as being a beneficial resource for the P25 project and a pathway for city executives to give back to their community through mentorship. “The University of Texas at Dallas Design Capstone Program not only provided the City of Dallas with a great value in terms of the P25 Radio Network Digital Twin project delivered, but also afforded City employees with a rewarding experience mentoring students at our local university.”
According to the students, gaining the opportunity to work closely with leaders within the City of Dallas, further polished their communication and project planning skills. “Project management skills and other soft skills are extremely relevant. You can always learn technical skills but having the experience of working with professionals is invaluable.” said Vishnu Yarabarla.
Daniel Pollak, Senior IT Manager and executive sponsor of the City of Dallas project agreed citing the UTDesign Capstone Program as the perfect opportunity for students to prepare themselves for the work environment – “You can study a lot of things in a classroom, but getting that practical knowledge, getting that day in and day out experience of working in a professional environment, can’t really be substituted in a classroom. You can read about it and learn about it but until you do it, it’s just not there sometimes.”
When asked about why it was important for the City of Dallas to get involved in UTDesign’s program, Daniel Pollak emphasized the relevance of community engagement and participation – “For the city, it’s very important as far as we’re we’re getting back to our community, we’re trying to participate in what our citizens and constituents within the city are actually doing and achieving, and part of that is with the UT Dallas being within the City of Dallas.”
Furthermore, he believes that the City of Dallas Project done by this excellent team of UT Dallas students will ultimately “help the city out greatly”, as people who don’t fully understand the capabilities of a public safety radio system will gain a better understanding. “By creating a digital twin of the P25 radio network, the students have put some substance to the discussion. The digital twin is an actual visual representation that shows everybody how this actually works.”
The success of the collaboration between this team of students and the City of Dallas has spurred conversations about future engagements with other talented Engineering and Computer Science students from the University of Texas at Dallas – “We’re really interested in doing another project to further enhance the P25 Digital Twin next semester. We got amazing feedback from the leadership of various departments such as the Dallas Police Department and the Fire and Rescue Department on how impressive the students are. And so for us, I think the next steps are really having discussions to understand how we can engage and participate in future projects.” Amanda Nabours said.
This Fall, the #UTDesignCapstone team will be partnering with more organizations to bring innovative projects to life. To learn more about the benefits of sponsoring a project, connect with us here.
