NJIT/NJII/NJCU/BEOC ALLIANCE UAS and Homeland Security Update

[Mike Chumer]

GENERAL INFORMATION- In early December 2014 I eliminated the open UAS research meetings that we held on a weekly basis and kept communication and planning activity tightly controlled within a core team  focusing  on the  mission that got us started three years ago. That mission zeroes in  on developing a communication and collaborative capability that could be applied within the application area of emergency management, Homeland Security and public safety. We felt that we had drifted from our core mission and needed to focus like a laser beam on what  was important which was using technology (sometime disruptive technology)  to reduce decision making cycle times during the response to a catastrophic event in order to save lives. Our UAS and UAS integration into the National Airspace was but one objective that we needed to accomplish in order to successfully complete our overall mission. However in order to accomplish that objective which is the primary goal of the six FAA test sites we have to be better organized, more flexible, more resilient, and more knowledgeable than the test sites.For those of you who have come to really know me understand that I am mission driven and have a unique passion for what I do. I am a Marine and expect nothing less of myself and the team that we have put together .

So who is on this team? I was asked recently by a journalist to list the team I built that resulted in the successful UAS flights at Cape May and the following is what I provided.

The team and its partners are as follows:
1. New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)  - Team lead and COA holder
2. New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) - A NJIT non profit directing UAS applied research
3. Cape May County
4. New Jersey City University (doctoral students)
5. American Aerospace Advisers (AAAI) - UAS operations
6.The  Business Emergency Operations Center  (BEOC) Alliance - A 501.c.3 non profit (overall flight management) with specific  support from Atlantic Health Systems, Hackensack University Medical Center, Bank of America, Mutualink and NC4.
7. US Coast Guard Training Center (TRACEN)

In addition our current partners which were tangentially involved in the first flight but are currently working with the overall team for future research includes.
1. SRI
2. Applied Communication Sciences
3. Cloud Cap (developer of the Piccolo autopilot)
4. Panasonic
5. Delaware River Bay Authority (DRBA)

As we move forward with UAS activity in NJ I have created a "core" team that will work with me on research, strategy, and policy moving forward in 2015 and beyond. See the attachment for a strategy brief I held at the Cape May Lewes Ferry terminal several weeks ago hosted by the Delaware River Bay Authority and attended by Cape May leadership, Atlantic Cape Community College, and the Cape May Technical High School.

Our research will be driven by the UAS sensors that we feel provide a capability within our application area of emergency management, Homeland Security and public safety. To this end we feel that the SRI Terrasight, Panasonic TAMDAR, Mutualink workstation and edge solution, persistent system mesh/manet/ comm.relay, the BEOC Alliance Raspberry PI technology should undergo programmatic UAS  evaluation and testing under COA airspace as well as restricted airspace test flights.

CAMDEN COUNTY - This week we met with Camden County Prosecutor and Camden County OEM personnel pertaining to the use of UAS for a variety of law enforcement use cases. We further agreed to hold a TTX (table top exercise) in the late Spring to plan for the potential application for an emergency COA in the State of NJ should such a situation arise. We will be seeking attendance at the TTX of stakeholders who want to understand what this emergency COA means and what capabilities could be realized from the progressive research activities by the NJIT/NJII/NJCU/BEOC Alliance UAS Team toward that end. We have already developed the TTX we plan to use.

SENATOR BOOKER - Lastly, members of the team met with Simon Periera and Zach McCue (Senator Booker's NJ staff)  in my lab at NJIT today (Feb 24) for an hour and 45 minutes. We briefed them on our activities in Cape May County and our direction in NJ. I extracted parts of the brief I conducted at the recent meeting we had with  Delaware River Bay Authority (DRBA) and Cape May County at the Cape May Lewes Ferry terminal.

It was an eye opener for them and they offered their support in dealing with the Federal Agencies as we move forward on our NJ strategy for 2015 and beyond. We penciled in Sen Booker's attendance at the Boy Scout jamboree I am working on to be held Oct 2015 at Liberty State Park  in connection with a STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, Math) oriented UAS display and potential flight activity around Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. They were excited about this event. This jamboree will be for 5000+ scouts and will be the first overnight at Liberty State Park since 9/11.

CRADA ACTIVITY - We are pursuing cooperative research agreements with CERDEC for use of restricted airspace at Warren Grove. We are in communication with the US Coast Guard for a CRADA with them for search and rescue operations. Both using the potential of UAS.

SECURE PORTAL COMMUNICATION - I have moved team sensitive communication between my core team members to the NC4 extranet secure portal called Cybercop. We plan to use the portal for secure messaging within the team and for filing documents in their private library that relates to team initiatives moving forward.

FUTURE ACTIVITY - I will periodically provide information developed by our "core'team to this group. Any press activity must be channeled through Tracey Regan who can be reached at tracey....@njit.edu

The only phone calls I take are on my cell....see my signature block.

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M. J. Chumer, Ph.D.

Associate Director NJ Innovation Institute (a NJIT non-profit organization)

Director NJIT UAS Research and Operations

Director NJIT MS Program Emergency Management and Business Continuity

Academic Adviser/Affiliated Faculty, New Jersey City University Doctor of Science Program; Civil Security, Leadership, Management and Policy (an executive and practitioner based doctoral program)
"NJCU develops researching professionals"

973-596-5484
973-444-4417 (cell)

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MS Emergency Management and Business Continuity see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrfXIFOUlmk
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