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Security Technologies

Submit Your Ideas | Areas of Interest

Aircraft Hardening

The primary objectives of Aircraft Hardening research are to determine the vulnerabilities of commercial passenger aircraft to terrorist threats and to investigate and develop methods to protect or mitigate the damage from an in-flight explosion or other criminal action. This includes assessment of threats such as explosives directed energy electromagnetic and man portable air defense systems. Specific areas of focus include:

Identify methods/means of modeling internal blast loading in a typical passenger aircraft environment and the respective structural damage including blast and damage characteristics and failure mechanisms. Identify model adaptability to various aircraft designs and model capability to clearly determine specific vulnerabilities.

Demonstrate methods/means to protect commercial passenger aircraft from catastrophic structural or critical system failures due to in-flight explosions including solutions applicable to the cargo hole and/or passenger cabin. Near-term solutions should be capable of ready incorporation into existing aircraft while long-term solutions should be applicable to new and/or emerging airframe designs.

Identify methods/means to protect the cockpit from unlawful entry and/or disturbance. Provide protection for the door and bulkhead from small arms fire fragmentation devices and brute force threats. Ensure safety parameters such as depressurization requirements and emergency access/egress are not compromised.

Determine method/means to identify assess test as appropriate and develop potential countermeasures to threats to commercial aircraft from direct energy electromagnetic man portable air defense systems and other emerging threats. Include efforts that compliment existing Department of Defense (or other public or private) programs that can be leveraged.

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Checked Baggage Screening

Checked baggage screening is a system used to identify threats in all bags that are checked in by passengers. Specifically, a checked baggage system must functionally address several processes including passenger prescreening, baggage inspection, post check-in baggage integrity, positive passenger bag match, alarm resolution procedures, and threat object control procedures.

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Passenger/Carry-on Baggage Screening

Passenger/Carry-on baggage screening is a system that screens the passenger and carry-on items to identify threats at the passenger checkpoint and beyond. A passenger screening system must functionally address other processes such as situation response procedures, alarm resolution procedures, and threat object control procedures.

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Cargo Screening Technology

The cargo screening system is a system that identifies threats in air cargo on passenger or cargo-only aircraft. Cargo may be loaded in loose or bulk form, which is the form predominantly used on narrow-body aircraft. Alternatively, cargo may be loaded on wide-body passenger aircraft in the form of containerized or palletized configurations. There are a number of methods by which cargo may be offered to an air carrier for transport, and a number of processing stages that the cargo goes through. Hence the nature of air cargo operations makes the development and implementation of a successful susceptibility reduction plan logistically complex. The cargo screening systems provide enhanced security for cargo, and mail transported on passenger aircraft commensurate with the evolving systems for checked and carry-on baggage. A cargo screening system must functionally address shipper prescreening, cargo inspection, alarm resolution procedures, and storage and transit security.

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Credentialing

Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Program: The task is to design and field a "smart" common credential for all transportation workers requiring unescorted physical and logical access to secure areas of the nationwide transportation system. Implementation of a common credential and supporting infrastructure will provide the following benefits:

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Human Factors/Behavioral Science

Identify approaches to select job applicants who possess the abilities and aptitudes to be effective security screeners using X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and other imaging systems. Identify technologies that will provide security supervisors with tools needed to more effectively deploy human and technical assets throughout an airport environment (i.e. fitness for duty testing). Proposals should examine ways of optimizing human resources while ensuring effective security under conditions that range from high levels of activity to times of extremely low activity.

Deterrence involves the effective design and integration of operators, security technologies, procedures, and systems. Present a means to quantify/measure and predict the deterrent value of competing security designs and technologies. Describe the approach and data to measure security quality and the implementation of a non-punitive error management system. Demonstrate a robust quality assurance system in a complex operational environment, measurement of conformance to procedures, and any necessary customization for the security domain.

Recommendations and approaches for the assessment and applicability of stress in aviation security screeners and passengers. Provide data and arguments for those specific measurement techniques that would be most appropriate for the measurement of stress in the screener workplace. This evaluation should be based on the usability and efficacy of the measurement techniques as well as security screener's environment, tasks, and assessment needs.

Security screeners visually and manually search passengers and their bags to determine if they possess potentially deadly or dangerous articles. This process is dependent upon visual search and decision skills. Looking for ideas in physical, procedural, and technical aids (e.g., enhanced search procedures, augmented displays, cueing aids) to further enhance screener visual and manual search performance.

Security screeners and operators constantly interact with the traveling public in the conduct of screening people and their belongings. Approaches and technologies are requested to enhance these security interactions to ensure effective information exchange, privacy, dignity, communication, and cooperation/understanding. This area of interest is also focused on effective and professional interactions with individuals with special needs.

Operators in the security system serve as "sensors" to assess the threat level presented by individuals and their belongings. Ideas are requested on validated methods and approaches to assess and enhance operators' awareness of developing security situations, insider threats, and behavioral indicators of malicious intent in an airport environment.

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Modeling/Simulation

One of the most challenging tasks that TSA faces is meeting the goals of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA). Accomplishing these goals within the imposed deadline and within the typically tight space constraints of the airport terminal will require significant changes in the way airlines and airports manage passengers and their baggage.

To effectively plan for and manage the changes TSA is increasingly looking to computer simulation for answers. Simulation models offer the opportunity to estimate the operational impact of new security equipment and procedures, and also provide a non-intrusive way to examine the complex interdependencies of the airport environment. Such a capability is essential, as it is clear that to effectively integrate security upgrades, numerous objectives must be balanced, including equipment cost, passenger and baggage throughput capacity, and security effectiveness. It also must be recognized that new security systems will be installed in and function as part of operating US airports, which often must handle tens of thousands of passengers and bags in a single day, and must do so in a competitive and cost efficient manner. Failure to recognize these issues when planning and implementing security upgrades can result in inefficient and/or ineffective solutions.

Requirements to develop a series of discrete event simulation models used for analyzing airport operations, in addition to the development of workforce analysis models to evaluate the impact of staffing changes and dynamics at each airport. Aircraft arrivals, passenger flow, facility resources, and queue dynamics shall be key elements in the model. Develop simulation models that use the operational data collected to determine impact of new equipment, policies and procedures on operations, in addition to performing sensitivity analysis.

These same concepts may also be extended to other modes of the nation's transportation infrastructure. Modeling/simulation of security threats and mitigation means are also required for rail, cargo, seaport and truck modes.

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Other Security Technologies

You may select Other Security Technologies if you feel your idea, product, or service is not adequately addressed. However, you are encouraged to select one of the regular Areas of Interest, because the technical review time for items listed as "Other" will be longer than 30 days.

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Submitting Ideas

Ready to submit your idea for evaluation?

Our submission process for information technology opportunities is now integrated with the Department of Homeland Security IT Product and Service Information.

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