The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has evaluated a suite of in-building sensors developed through the Smart City Internet of Things Innovation Labs effort during a live active shooter exercise at George Mason University’s (GMU) Eagle Bank Arena. The event was the culmination of a two-year partnership with the Center of Innovative Technology (CIT), aimed at advancing smart technologies with DHS stakeholders.
Hosted by GMU, CIT, and Smart City Works, the exercise demonstrated how smart building technologies can inform daily operations and improve public safety and response effectiveness in emergency situations. SCITI Labs performers from EcoDomus, Inc.; Mutualink, Inc.; and Datakwip Holdings supported the deployment and test of Wi-Fi detectors, blue force tracking, LiDAR occupancy detectors, particulate and environmental sensors, and 2D/3D visualization tools. All of this information was pulled together into an integrated sensor platform that supported facility analytics and automated alerting.
Hundreds of first responders, researchers, and volunteers participated in this large-scale effort along with technology innovators and Virginia political and business leaders.
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“This event demonstrates what homeland security research and development is all about: bringing operational users together with academia and public and private sector partners to invest in technologies that keep our citizens safe,” said William N. Bryan, DHS Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Undersecretary for Science and Technology, in a statement.
The SCITI Labs team will continue to work with these industry partners, as well as government agencies, public safety officials, infrastructure owners, and private sector investment partners, to further design, develop, and operationally test and evaluate these capabilities to ready them for adoption.