DHS heads-up initiative to develop revolutionary homeland security technologies
WASHINGTON, 3 Jan. 2010. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington is asking industry for revolutionary technologies improve homeland security missions and operations.
The DHS Science & Technology Directorate is issuing a long-range broad agency announcement (DHS BAA 10-01) to develop and demonstrate homeland security technology for border and maritime security; chemical and biological division; command, control, & interoperability; explosives countermeasures; as well as human factors and behavioral sciences.
This solicitation will be open for one year, and closes on 31 Dec. 2010. Those interested may submit proposals and white papers any time during this period. Those selected will be asked to demonstrate prototype technologies in the field.
The border, maritime, and cargo security part of this solicitation involves new surveillance, monitoring, and response capabilities for covering vast expanses of remote border territories, as well as new security devices and inspection methods for securing large volumes of cargo entering U.S. ports.
This component involves new low-power surveillance technologies, as well as hand-held devices that help inspect hidden or closed compartments; non-lethal weapons to disable vehicles, ships, and aircraft; sensors to detect the origin of gunfire; decision-support technology; wide-area coastal surveillance to beyond the horizon; improved sensor technology that overcomes coastal clutter; data fusion for command center operations; non-intrusive cargo screening; and automatic target recognition and response capability.
The chemical and biological division component involves technologies to characterize and rank chemical and biological weapons, surveillance and early attack warning, decontamination, and defending agriculture and food supplies.
Areas of interest include improved biological and chemical analysis; instruments to detect chemical and biological threats in aerosol sprays, and liquids; sharing of chemical and biological threat sensor data among state, local, and federal authorities; bioforensics for criminal investigations; and countermeasures for foreign animal disease pathogens affecting food animals.
The command, control, & interoperability component of this solicitation involves standards, frameworks, tools, and other information technologies to enhance communications among homeland security authorities. This includes voice communications, cyber security, criminal forensics, and advanced reconnaissance and surveillance technologies.
The explosives countermeasures component involves detecting and neutralizing explosives threats to aviation, shipping, public transportation, highways, railroads, utilities, and pipelines. this involves standoff detection of explosives, cargo security, counter improvised explosive device (IED) technologies, data fusion, and materials to mitigate the effects of explosives.
Human factors and behavioral sciences aims to improve detection and understanding of threatening individuals, groups, and radical movements to prepare for, respond to, and recover from catastrophic events.
For questions and concerns, contact W. Adrian Groth, the long-range broad agency announcement coordinator at DHS by e-mail at [email protected], or DHS contracting officer Susan Eicher at [email protected].
More information is available online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DHS/OCPO/DHS-OCPO/DHSS-TLRBAA10-01/listing.html.
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