The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) is looking for start-ups to develop or adapt a system to more clearly mark and track objects in the water. The new Maritime Object Tracking Technology solicitation was posted today for a new technology that could become a valuable part of mission execution for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
SVIP and USCG will host a Homeland Security Day on March 4, 2020, in Menlo Park, California from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST to discuss the Maritime Object Tracking Technology solicitation and other current USCG operational needs. To register for the event, visit https://sri-csl.regfox.com/dhs-svip-homeland-security-day-uscg.
As part of a technology demonstration from 2018, a Coast Guard crewmember jettisons a Maritime Object Tracking Technology on the Thames River, New London, Connecticut. The MOTT is designed to be deployed from a speeding boat or helicopter, and electronically mark contraband or debris on the open ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo courtesy of Research and Development Center)
The USCG is the lead federal agency for 11 statutory missions to include drug interdiction on the high seas, as well as search and rescue, migrant interdiction, and others. To better execute these responsibilities, the USCG needs a more reliable system for clearly marking and accurately monitoring objects in the water for recovery.
“During the course of normal operations, Coast Guard aircraft and vessels come across numerous types of jettisoned objects, and navigation hazards that need to be recovered from the seas and waterways,” said Wendy Chaves, U.S. Coast Guard Chief of Research, Development, Test and Evaluation and Innovation. “The USCG is interested in tracking solutions that are interoperable with current USCG maritime and aviation assets.”
This Other Transaction Solicitation call seeks a more robust buoy tracking technology that will assist USCG operations and has the ability to be deployed from both air platforms and maritime surface vessels, on patrol or in pursuit.
“A robust and effective Maritime Object Tracking Technology will bolster USCG mission capabilities,” said Melissa Oh, SVIP Managing Director, “and a system that can be more widely used by all USCG personnel will strengthen waterway security, drug interdiction, and search and rescue missions while benefitting maritime navigation and marine safety.”
On behalf of DHS Operational Components, SVIP invests in start-up companies with viable technologies suitable for rapid prototyping projects from across the nation and around the world to adapt, develop and harness cutting-edge capabilities that are commercially sustainable while simultaneously meeting the needs of DHS operational components and programs.
For more information on current and future SVIP solicitations, visit https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/svip or contact dhs-silicon-valley@hq.dhs.gov.
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