Thirty small businesses have won contracts from the Department of Homeland Security to develop proofs of concept across 11 technology areas, including artificial intelligence-powered distress monitoring automation.
Awardees will carry out projects within a five-month period under the first phase of DHS’ Small Business Innovation Research program, the department’s science and technology directorate said Friday.
DHS allocated up to $150,000 for each project to explore a specific platform for homeland security use.
The winning companies and their respective leaders are as follows:
- Analytical AI: Mark Froehlich
- Caelum Research: Diana Yeh
- CapeSym: Shariar Motakef
- Caspia Technologies: Mark Tehranipoor
- Catalysts Communications Technologies: Robin Grier
- Defender LLC
- Design West Technologies
- Eduworks: Elliot Robson
- IDEM: David Nash
- Intellisense Systems: Frank Willis
- Liebold Technologies
- Luna Labs USA: James Garrett
- Lynntech: Duncan Hitchens
- Makel Engineering: Darby Makel
- Maritime Arresting Technologies: Matthew Searle
- Mutualink: Mark Hatten
- N5 Sensors: Abhishek Motayed
- Nanohmics: Mike Mayo
- Novateur Research Solutions: Khurram Shafique
- Onyx Spectrum Technology: Adrienne Benton
- Polaris Sensors Technologies: David Chenault
- Precisyx LLC
- Radiation Monitoring Devices: Michael Squillante
- Sonalysts: Milt Stretton
- Spectral Labs: Jim Winso
- Tango Tango: Trey Sharp
- TDA Research: Girish Srinivas
- Tiami LLC
- Vadum: Aaron Walker
- Yotta Navigation: Donald Massaro
More than half of the project topics center around systems meant to detect counterfeit microelectronics, biological hazards, radioactive materials, high-consequence toxins, aerosolized chemicals and transboundary or nationally reportable animal diseases.
The other research efforts will focus on automated AI distress alerts and monitoring, deployable countermeasures at protected perimeters and structures, mass fatality tracking, broadband push-to-talk interoperability and airport checkpoint screening for limited mobility passengers.
