The INTEGRAL Burst Alert System

We describe the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System (IBAS): the automatic software developed at the INTEGRAL Science Data Center to allow the rapid distribution of the coordinates of the Gamma-Ray Bursts detected by INTEGRAL. IBAS is implemented as a ground based system, working on the near-real time telemetry stream. It is expected that the system will detect more than one GRB per month in the field of view of the main instruments. Positions with an accuracy of a few arcminutes will be distributed to the community for follow-up observations within a few tens of seconds of the event. The system will also upload commands to optimize the possible detection of bursts in the visible band with the INTEGRAL Optical Monitor Camera.