Developing an integrated person-borne improvised explosive device (IED) countermeasure to protect unstructured
crowds at large public venues is the goal of the Standoff Technology Integration and Demonstration Program (STIDP),
sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The architecture being developed includes
countermeasure technologies deployed as a layered defense and enabling technologies for operating the countermeasures
as an integrated system. In the architecture, early recognition of potentially higher-risk individuals is crucial. Sensors
must be able to detect, with high accuracy, explosives' threat signatures in varying environmental conditions, from a
variety of approaches and with dense crowds and limited dwell time. Command-and-control technologies are needed to
automate sensor operation, reduce staffing requirements, improve situational awareness, and automate/facilitate operator
decisions.
STIDP is developing technical and operational requirements for standoff and remotely operated sensors and is working
with federal agencies and foreign governments to implement these requirements into their research and development
programs. STIDP also is developing requirements for a software platform to rapidly integrate and control various
sensors; acquire, analyze, and record their data; and present the data in an operationally relevant manner. Requirements
also are being developed for spatial analysis, tracking and assessing threats with available screening resources, and data
fusion for operator decision-making.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Standoff Technology Integration and Demonstration Program is designed
to accelerate the development and integration of technologies, concepts of operations, and training to defeat explosives
attacks at large public events and mass transit facilities. The program will address threats posed by suicide bombers,
vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, and leave-behind bombs. The program is focused on developing and testing
explosives countermeasure architectures using commercial off-the-shelf and near-commercial standoff and remotely
operated detection technologies in prototypic operational environments. An important part of the program is the
integration of multiple technologies and systems to protect against a wider range of threats, improve countermeasure
performance, increase the distance from the venue at which screening is conducted, and reduce staffing requirements.
The program will routinely conduct tests in public venues involving successively more advanced technology, higher
levels of system integration, and more complex scenarios. This paper describes the initial field test of an integrated
countermeasure system that included infrared, millimeter-wave, and video analytics technologies for detecting person-borne
improvised explosive devices at a public arena. The test results are being used to develop a concept for the next
generation of integrated countermeasures, to refine technical and operational requirements for architectures and
technologies, and engage industry and academia in solution development.
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