Projects
Public Safety and Security Institute for Technology (PSITEC)
Housed within the Technology and Information Services (T&IS) Unit, one of the major programs of the Justice and Safety Center (JSC) is the Public Safety and Security Institute for Technology (PSITEC). PSITEC is a strategic partnership between the JSC and G&H International Services, Inc. (GHIS) dedicated to the enhancement of public safety and security technologies. PSITEC currently focuses on two major initiatives for the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T): DHS Tech Clearinghouse and DHS TechSolutions. These initiatives are detailed below.
DHS Tech Clearinghouse
Section 313 of Public Law 107-296, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, tasks DHS S&T with providing a technology clearinghouse that encourages and supports innovative solutions to enhance homeland security and to facilitate the mission of DHS. In support of this mission, PSITEC is developing the DHS Tech Clearinghouse. The DHS Tech Clearinghouse is an information portal that enables easy retrieval of relevant information without having to be exact about the search criteria. A key component to providing this capability is the aggregation of appropriate public safety and security information, which is not centrally located on any government Web site. Therefore, by building and maintaining a database of timely and relevant information, the DHS Tech Clearinghouse will become a valuable and critical resource to the public safety and security community.
Current program objectives state that the DHS Tech Clearinghouse will be officially released in the fall of 2007. Between now and the official release date, PSITEC will be hard at work meeting with government officials and state and local emergency responders, performing Web development, and conducting research to put the final touches on the DHS Tech Clearinghouse to enable its successful release later this year.
DHS TechSolutions
The TechSolutions program was established by DHS S&T to provide information, resources, and technology solutions that address mission capability gaps identified by the emergency response community. The goal of TechSolutions is to field technologies that meet 80% of the operational requirements, in a 12-15 month time frame, at a cost commensurate with the proposal, but less than $1 million. These goals will be met through rapid prototyping and the identification of existing technologies that satisfy identified requirements.
The DHS TechSolutions program is currently operational and accepting submissions from the emergency response community that identify known capability gaps or technologies that would aid emergency responders in doing their job faster, safer, and more efficient. Technologies that the DHS TechSolutions program is currently exploring include 3-D personnel location and tracking devices, environmental monitoring devices, and seatbelts for emergency response vehicle safety.
Contact Information
For more information on the PSITEC program, please contact Brian Simpkins at Brian.Simpkins@eku.edu or 859-622-6761.
