A proposed protocol for remote control of automated assessment devices

Systems and devices that are controlled remotely are becoming more common in security systems in the US Air Force and other government agencies to provide protection of valuable assets. These systems reduce the number of needed personnel while still providing a high level of protection. However, each remotely controlled device usually has its own communication protocol. This limits the ability to change devices without changing the system that provides the communications control to the device. Sandia is pursuing a standard protocol that can be used to communicate with the different devices currently in use, or may be used in the future, in the US Air Force and other government agencies throughout the security community. Devices to be controlled include intelligent pan/tilt mounts, day/night video cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and remote data processors. Important features of this protocol include the ability to send messages of varying length, identify the sender, and more importantly, control remote data processors. As camera and digital signal processor (DSP) use expands, the DSP will begin to reside in the camera itself. The DSP can be used to provide auto-focus, frame-to-frame image registration, video motion detection (VMD), target detection, tracking, image compression, and many other functions. With the serial data control link, the actual DSP software can be updated or changed as required. Coaxial video cables may become obsolete once a compression algorithm is established in the DSP. The paper describes the proposed public domain protocol, features, and examples of use