Rohill Develops Web-based Mission-critical TeamLink Dispatcher

Effective team communications in public safety (police, fire, ambulance) and public transport (metro, tram, buses) requires dispatch stations in a control room environment. Typically, these dispatch stations provide voice communication within groups, support of emergency calls, and map-based location services. Depending on the size of the control room, the number of dispatch stations varies between a few to more than 50 positions.

Traditionally, the software for these dispatch stations runs as an application that is installed and configured on a desktop. In recent years, business applications move towards web-based services, connected to a local server or server "in the cloud". By adopting the newest web technologies, it is possible to migrate these dispatch stations towards web-based applications.

The goal of this project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is to develop a mission-critical TeamLink Dispatcher that works as a web application. Web applications significantly lower the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) due to the simplicity of deployment and support, as well as lower energy consumption by using Thin Client PCs. In addition to Windows PCs, the web-based TeamLink Dispatcher can also run on Linux, MacOS and Chromebooks, further adding flexibility for deployment and adding options for enhanced stability and security.

The project comes with significant challenges: mission-critical communication requires high levels of availability, scalability and fast operation, which are difficult to achieve with simple web applications. To meet these requirements, Rohill will implement a distributed TeamLink Dispatch server solution, supporting both scalability and redundancy. Furthermore, Rohill specific IPR enables reliable and fast operation by implementing smart solutions for switching, routing and fail-over of voice calls within the TeamLink Core.