Over the next 20 years, the public safety community will simultaneously face unprecedented challenges and opportunities with the emergence of revolutionary new communications technology. In light of this transitional period, the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) initiated a deliberate research and development (R&D) planning effort in 2013 to determine what technology R&D investments are necessary to transition public safety data, video, and eventually voice communications from the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) environment to a nationwide Long Term Evolution (LTE) broadband network. In order to optimize its investment resources, PSCR solicited input from first responders, officials from all levels of government, industry leaders, and academia. By leveraging expertise from across its diverse stakeholder base, PSCR can more accurately map the current state of the public safety and communications industries, identify current and future technology gaps, and make better-informed decisions on where its R&D initiatives will create the greatest impact. User Interface is the third in a series of technology roadmaps PSCR has developed since 2013. PSCR initiated its R&D roadmapping by publishing the Location-Based Services R&D Roadmap Report 4 in Spring 2015, later publishing the Public Safety Analytics R&D Roadmap Report in Spring 2016. User Interface was selected by PSCR as an important R&D opportunity area because it demonstrated high leveragability, feasibility, impact, and return on investment to the public safety community. It also continues to receive tremendous attention from technology companies, universities, and other government organizations, which underscores the importance of systematically surveying and recommending investment opportunities in the data analytics sector. User Interface-and human-computer interaction (HCI) more broadly-represents a vast subject area. Following publication of Public Safety Enhanced User Interface R&D Roadmap, PSCR will proceed to identify, prioritize, and launch formal R&D projects through its Innovation Accelerator Program. 5 The program, formally established in 2016, will use the $300 million allocated to NIST in the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act for R&D efforts in support of the development and deployment of the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). The Innovation Accelerator program leverages prize challenges, grants, and cooperative agreements to stimulate critical R&D for public safety communications technology including LMR to LTE integration, User Interface/User Experience, Location-based Services (LBS), Mission Critical Voice, and Public Safety Analytics. In order to optimize the allocation of public safety's R&D resources, PSCR will continue to engage stakeholders, coordinate activities, and create an understanding of the various actors advancing user interface (UI) technologies.
