S&T Directorate announces new opportunities
Biometrics, interoperable communications, document validatiion, and blast mitigation top the agency’s wish list
Readers will recall that we were last week at the recent NDIA-sponsored S&T Stakeholders Conference and Exhibition. We met many of you there, and those who were unable to attend can be assured that it was a stimulating affair. DHS’s S&T Directorate, under the reinvigorated leadership of Jay Cohen, went to great lengths to help vendors and inventors navigate the office’s many cutting edge funding sources. We also took part in some intriguing break-out sessions, including one about Project Chloe and another about Israeli bomb-disposal methods. We were proud to be the media sponsor of the event, and we are thankful to the friendly and accomodating staffs of NDIA and the S&T Directorates.
With that in mind, we turn now to a few interesting oportunities just recently announced by S&T. The agency offered the following broad agency announcements, and we are thankful as well to GSN for compiling them:
BULLETS
Biometric detector ($995,000): a miniature, contactless fingerprint collection device capable of single digit fingerprint capture in high-volume post disaster environments. The system must be able to “verify the’ liveness’ of the finger during collection.”
Document Validator ($475,000): Intended to support the rapid and accurate automated analysis of identity documents through the use of robust document analytics capable of recognizing watermarks, holograms, digital information, and other anti-counterfeiting techniques. The system must be able to validate 10,000 different document types and alert operators to unknown documents.
Anti-IED and Suicide Bomber Device ($1,900,000): The government is looking for a technology to protect building infastructure from nearby explosives — in particular one that does so by deflecting energy away from critical support walls.
First Responder Reliable Link ($1,425,000): a interoperable communication system that would remain operational after a major incident while also offering the appropriate levels of security.The system should also support the use of the Unified Incident Command structure during emergencies and be consistent with the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System.
