Voice communication for critical infrastructure control rooms
Flight-Proven Voice Loops. Zero Hardware. Total Resilience.
Many-to-Many communication in the browser: each position monitors several loops and talks via Push-to-Talk. Built for mission operations at DLR, now for control rooms in energy, transport and IT.
Diagram, not a screenshot. Two positions talk at the same time, the server mixes.
Many-to-Many
In a control room, many people talk to many. Phone and radio were not built for that.
Solutions
Built for critical infrastructure. Open to every control room.
openvocs was built to operate critical space infrastructure and released as open source. Control rooms in other sectors have the same requirements: many parties, parallel conversations, operation on their own network. KRITIS marks sectors that count as critical infrastructure under German law.
- Energy and utilitiesGrid control, on-call staff and field crews in fixed loops. Phone system connected through the SIP gateway.KRITIS
- TransportOperations control, dispatch and fault service on separate loops instead of one broadcast channel.KRITIS
- SpaceWhere it started: mission control with distributed control rooms and partners.NIS-2 · Space
- IT and data centersControl rooms for operations and incidents, including financial IT.KRITIS · DORA
- Public administrationControl rooms of the federal IT service providers and the federal waterways.§ 29 BSIG
- EventsIncident command, security and technical crews on laptops instead of radios.other
Product
One system, four deployment models
Users need a laptop, a headset and a browser. The server runs wherever the operator puts it.
On-site control room
Installed in the operator’s data center, as a container or as a .deb or .rpm package.
Multi-site network
Distributed control rooms and partners share loops without shared hardware.
Field sites and mobile
Anyone with network access joins with a laptop and a headset. No client software.
Isolated networks
Runs air-gapped: no internet connection, no external dependencies.
openvocs Core
Loops, roles, Push-to-Talk, multichannel mixing. Signaling over secure WebSockets, audio over WebRTC with DTLS/SRTP.
Recorder
Multichannel recording with cryptographic signatures and privacy features.
More about the RecorderSecurity and compliance
For operators who need evidence
NIS-2 places obligations on operators, not on products. So we supply what operators need for their own evidence.
§ 30 BSIG
openvocs supports measures under § 30(2) nos. 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 BSIG, the German act implementing NIS-2. No. 10 covers secured voice and emergency communication.
Within the operator’s ISMS
The system runs on the operator’s network and therefore within the operator’s scope. For grid operators: self-assessment based on the BDEW/OE/VSE white paper.
Updates and reporting
We report vulnerabilities under the Cyber Resilience Act. Security updates are free of charge for the entire support period.
Open source code
Security teams read the code before they decide.
About us
From the DLR control room
The three founders helped develop openvocs at the German Space Operations Center and brought it into mission operations. Spacecomms now offers it to other control rooms, with modules, integration and support.
- GSOCDeveloped at DLRMarkus Töpfer starts openvocs in Oberpfaffenhofen to run distributed control centers.
- 2023First missionMORABA research campaign in Kiruna. Presented at SpaceOps 2023.
- 2025Version 2.0.1Open source under Apache-2.0 on GitHub.
- 2026Spacecommsopenvocs as a product for control rooms beyond spaceflight.
4 : 5, light background
Markus Töpfer
CO-FOUNDER · CEOArchitect of the openvocs engine and lead developer at DLR.
4 : 5, light background
Anja Bertard
CO-FOUNDER · CTODevelops the openvocs web clients.
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Tobias Kolb
CO-FOUNDER · CISOInformation security and compliance, operations and sales. Service owner of openvocs at DLR.
Request a demo
The demo runs in the browser and takes about 45 minutes. Afterwards we work out loops, roles and integrations for the control room in question.
Direct: sales@spacecomms.com