DHS Contract to Boost Safety and Incident Response Technologies for Smart Cities

​The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced a $4.8 million contract award to the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) of Herndon, Virginia, to apply cutting-edge Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to first responders and the commercial marketplace. The award was jointly announced by DHS and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe at the inaugural meeting of the Governor’s Smart Communities Working Group in Arlington, Virginia. Awarded via S&T’s Long Range Broad Agency Announcement solicitation, the two-year effort is meant to foster collaboration at all levels of government in order to make the nation’s cities smarter and citizens safer. S&T and CIT will work together to help the private sector integrate or retrofit IoT technologies into commercial buildings as well as the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to detect individuals during an incident and for search and rescue. "The result of this collaborative initiative will allow building owners and insurance carriers to mitigate liability exposure, and the sensors will help guide first responders during an incident," DHS said.