The Eye in the Sky
The helicopter on display at The Penn Stater was used at the G-20 in Pittsburgh to take footage of the protestors and identify (with picture, namebadge, etc.) the people responsible for creating disturbances.
Houston, we have touch down. The State Police helicopter has landed at the Penn Stater, and more helicopters are due to arrive this afternoon. Stop by to check them out.
Our visitors for the next two days at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel are the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Office of Public Safety Radio Services (OPRS) in the Governor’s Office of Administration. They are participating in the Pennsylvania Statewide Interoperability Conference, PA Interop III, in partnership with Penn State. The conference is a statewide forum for public safety and emergency communications cooperation, discussion, promotion, and planning.
Previous conferences have been instrumental in developing Pennsylvania’s Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan (SCIP) and initiating the portfolio of projects for the Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program. The SCIP and the PSIC portfolio build on the role of the Pennsylvania Statewide Radio Network (PA-STARNet) as the backbone for interoperable public safety communications across the Commonwealth and pave the way for further federal grant programs and initiatives.
The conference theme this year is Hands-on Interoperability. The central event is a functional communications exercise on the first day growing out of a tabletop exercise conducted during the summer that featured a disaster scenario at a popular area music festival. The conference also features a full slate of classroom sessions as well as technology exhibits and a gallery of vendor displays.
As public safety interoperability gets better, folks such as the unlawful protesters at the G-20 gathering last week in Pittsburgh are identified and escorted to their cell more precisely. The helicopter here today was shooting crowd footage last week and forwarding pinpoint facial shots and location of individuals performing unlawful acts to officers on the ground for physical removal from the area. In forestry terms, I believe they call it "select cutting."
PS. This is the same helicopter that performs travel control for Penn State home football games and provided Tina Hay (Editor of the Penn Stater Magazine) with the opportunity to capture some great aerials photos a few weeks ago.
