Award Data

A majority of U.S. adults own a cell phone and are inclined to use it in emergency situations to call for assistance. Unfortunately, in areas where the density of cell towers is low, such as in rural and off-shore environments, the ability of the wireless network to geolocate the origin of the wireless signal is poor to non-existent. Under the proposed effort, Toyon Research Corporation will devel ...

We propose to develop a portable, rugged, handheld multi-gas sensor that is well within the solicitation requirements. We will leverage a mature class of mass sensors that include, for example: quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) and capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs). These sensors boast extraordinary sensitivity to changes in mass (e.g., 50 femtograms for CMUTs) and are u ...

KWJ proposes to develop an ultra-low power and low cost, handheld device for monitoring of post-fire air quality, including DHS target toxic gases, combustion gases, CO2, LEL and particular matter (PM). The proposed device will significantly improve the current air monitoring instrumentation of protecting fire responders from hazard post-fire environment. Current multi-gas analyzers are not suitab ...

A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report noted that that less than 1 percent of the 4,000-mile long border between the United States and Canada is under the operational control of U.S. Border Patrol. The large scale, and environmental conditions of the Northern Border pose specific technical challenges to securing the border. In this proposal, we detail a novel mesh networked RF senso ...

As Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices become increasingly popular and widely used, the security of the firmware running on these devices is paramount.However, due to the lack of an efficient and scalable analysis framework, combined with the increasing pressure to get products to market as quickly as possible, the software running on these devices is never properly checked for security vu ...

BlueRISC's proposed solution provides a fundamentally new approach to enable autonomous detection of exploitation attempts as well as healing of silent vulnerabilities. It follows a hybrid approach consisting of (i) new static silent vulnerability point and associated path pre-characterization concepts, and (ii) the insertion of minimal and low-overhead runtime support enabled by the vulnerability ...

Often illegal border crossing along the southern border takes place in unimproved areas not constantly monitored by Border Patrol agents or deployed sensors. Agents must rely on sign-cutting to detect traffic and start their pursuit. These signs can be difficult or impossible to detect from a moving platform with the unaided eye due to inclement weather, insufficient illumination and agent fatigue ...

To address the DHS need for a novel technology platform that is non-destructive to common environmental surfaces but capable of destroying a range of biological agents, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a Biological Warfare Agents Remediation (BIFAR) system based on photocatalytic ionization of hydrogen peroxide inside porous microcarriers. In Phase I, POC will develop, demonst ...

As cellphones have become ubiquitous, there is a growing interest in the potential to harness their radio frequency energy to assist in Search And Rescue SAR operations. Techniques to locate cellphones have significant shortcomings for operations in remote areas with little or no cellphone coverage, such as national parks, remote border areas, or waterways or seas. Furthermore, in all cellular tec ...

Next Century proposes development of CPACT (CheckPoint Advanced Computed Tomography), providing an innovative user interface that makes processing 3D CT images sufficiently intuitive and straightforward for the operator, so as to streamline their use at baggage checkpoints. The proposed CPACT solution will enable TSA and our nation to reap the benefits of the increased security that these 3D image ...