SAIC Nabs $40M TSA Extension for Operational Test And Evaluation Support
The Transportation Security Administration has awarded Science Applications International Corp.
[SAIC] a potential $40M contract to continue to provide operational test and evaluation support services. The order has a one-year base period and a six-month option. SAIC, through its previous acquisition of Engility, is the incumbent for the work. Under the contract, SAIC provides support services for checked baggage, checkpoint, risk-based security, information technology and cyber security, and other field data collection activities as assigned.
DHS S&T Awards TRX Systems SBIR Contract for In-Building Wireless Coverage
TRX Systems says it has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate to develop and demonstrate an In-Building Coverage and Analysis System (ICAS) that uses a first responder’s radio and smartphone to quickly inform public safety users about wireless service availability within a building and in other GPS-denied areas. The ICAS technology also easily identifies communication coverage gaps within specific buildings and across a total service area, TRX says. The Maryland-based company says the solution it is developing simultaneously measures and maps land mobile radio and FirstNet network service inside buildings. The award “will advance technology to collect the needed data while also making the coverage information and 3D maps more accessible to first responders during operations,” says Jeff Kunst, vice president of Product at TRX.
SAFR Nabs $2M AFWERX Awards for Computer Vision
SAFR says it has received two Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contracts worth $950,000 from AFWERX, the Air Force innovation unit focused on non-traditional contractors, to adapt the company’s computer vision platform to integrate real-time facial recognition across arrange of fixed and mobile device embedded cameras to secure perimeters and enhance situational awareness at sensitive sites. The Seattle-based company says in a partnership with another Air Force wing its technology will be further hardened against spoofing attacks to provide contactless secure access for authorized personnel using existing IP security cameras. It says the technology will enable the elimination of touch-based keypads. “Strong biometric identity authentication using face recognition has the potential to reduce the likelihood of contracting and spreading infectious elements including COVID-19 and seasonal flu into facilities, thus providing additional protection to our operational readiness,” Says Donald Hudson, technical director for the Air Force.
4D Tech Receives DHS SBIR Award for UAS Tracking in Urban Areas
4D Tech Solutions has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate to work on proof-of-concept research to analyze the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors to create 3D scene representations that can be used to detect, track and identify small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in an urban environment. The effort is for six-months. “As drones are increasingly used for tasks such as making deliveries and taking aerial photos, the ability to detect and classify those that are engaged in work activities versus those deployed for a harmful purpose is critically important to the safety of our communities,” says Brad DeRoos, president and CEO of 4D. The company received up to $150,000 for its work.
IDSS to Deploy Checkpoint CT System to Thai Airport
Integrated Defense and Security Solutions (IDSS) has received a competitive contract from AERO Corporation Co Ltd. to supply its DETECT 1000 computed tomography (CT)-based checkpoint baggage scanners to Suvarnabhumi International Airport located in Bangkok, Thailand. The airport is managed and operated by Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited. The award is in addition to systems that were deployed earlier this year. AERO is a local company contracted by the airport to provide equipment and support. “As we recover from the pandemic and the return of air travel, we anticipate the DETECT 1000 will assist Suvarnabhumi International Airport with providing increased checkpoint capacity and operator efficiencies,” says Jeffrey Hamel, president and CEO of IDSS.
Block MEMS DHS Award for Standoff Chem Detection
Block MEMS, LLC says a $1.7 million recently awarded to the company by the Department of Homeland Security related to development of trace chemical detection technology for screening parcels is for on-the-move standoff detection of trace quantities of drugs such as fentanyl, explosives, chemical warfare agents and toxic chemicals on parcels shipped to and within the U.S. Under the contract with the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, Block MEMS will leverage a separate contract, Standoff Illuminator for Measuring Absorbance and Reflectance Infrared Light Signatures (SILMARILS) that is funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity and managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, to develop a fieldable prototype Trace Chemical Detector to screen the outside surfaces of parcels for trace chemicals while they are being transported on a conveyor belt at operational speeds. The program will conclude with an operational system that will be tested at a government designated facility in an operational environment. Under SILMARILS, Block has used its eye-safe quantum cascade lasers to successfully demonstrate the ability of hyperspectral imaging to detect and map out the location of trace quantities of chemicals on a wide variety of surfaces at standoff distances of up to 25 meters with measurements made within a few seconds.
CryptoMove Receives DHS Contract for Cyber Security Research
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded California-based CryptoMove, Inc., a phase three Small Business Innovation Research contract to further develop the company’s cyber security technology. CryptoMove’s moving target data protection product safeguards information on edge devices like small unmanned aircraft systems and on enterprise systems like cloud computing. CryptoMove in June completed all four of S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program phases and successfully demonstrated its cybersecurity capability on a small UAS platform for the Border Patrol. With the support of Customs and Border Protection’s Innovation Team, the company has received the Phase III SBIR award to continue testing its capability with the agency’s Office of Information Technology in their enterprise network. “With further development, the CryptoMove software has the potential to significantly enhance CBP’s cyber security platform,” says Jeremy Ocheltree, acting deputy director of the Innovation Team. “This transition to a SBIR Phase III will continue the development of the software, and we anticipate a product that will not only benefit CBP, but potentially other DHS stakeholders as well.”