Command and controlRaytheon unveils new law enforcement tech center

Last week Raytheon openedthe doors for the first time to its new state of the art law enforcement technology center in Downey, California.

The Public Safety Regional Technology Center showcases the defense giant’s latest breakthroughs in public safety equipment and will also serve as an environment to foster the development and testing of new technologies for first responders. To that end, the new facility is equipped with a life-sized dispatch center and the front section of a Ford Crown Victoria.

“That’s really what this whole facility is about: bringing in the public safety personnel that have the requirements, have the need and be able to use the technology we develop as a company,” explained Mike Prout, Raytheon’s vice president of security and transportation systems, in an interview with the Downey Beat.

At the grand opening of the 27,000-square-foot facility, about 150 police and firefighters got to preview cell phone sized language translators and real-time camera displays. Attendees seemed particularly interested in a smartphone app that can help police translate several different languages. Dubbed “TransTalk,” the app allows a user to speak into the smart phone and the app will automatically translate the language into Pashto, Dari, Arabic, as well as several other languages.

“With all the communication issues we get, it would be awesome to get something like that,” said Conner Hill, a Downey firefighter who spoke to the Downey Beat.

Only one other Raytheon Public Safety Regional Technology Center exists in the United States and that is located in North Carolina and focuses on telecommunications.