Dynamic Open Architecture Radio System Project (DOARS)

The Dynamic Open Architecture Radio System (DOARS) Project, funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is a partnership between the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center – Southeast Region (NLECTC-Southeast) and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center – Charleston (SPAWAR) to advance research and development of software radio technology for use by public safety agencies to enhance interoperable communications.  The DOARS radio is a wireless communications device that performs its entire signaling processing in portable application level software.

The DOARS provides wireless communications interoperability by means of software programmability and configuration to arbitrarily connect or “bridge” incompatible radio systems.  DOARS connects the disparate systems by emulating each radio’s functionality in software and hardware modules and then passes either voice or data between the modules.  The software creates a virtual patch between the disparate radios and frequencies.

The technical focus of the project includes improvements to the current DOARS radio system.  These improvements include +enhanced software functionality and the capability for use with trunked systems; an improved RF Section to provide greater frequency band coverage at lower cost; equipment certification in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA); and development of a Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) DOARS radio, emphasizing cost-effectiveness and reproducibility.

The LRIP DOARS radio will be subjected to extensive testing and field evaluation by law enforcement agencies.  The testing and evaluation phase will be implemented in exercises and operational environments to provide direct feedback to the development team and to determine its maintainability and reliability during extended field deployments.