The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is now in the process of transitioning to operational use the technologies developed under the SIGMA and SIGMA+ programs following the completion of three weeks of demonstrations through July involving the participation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The demonstrations featured simulations of various chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threat scenarios and their detection through the use of an automated mobile sensor suite integrated into Port Authority vehicles deployed in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan region, DARPA said Monday.
The event gave Port Authority officers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the SIGMA+ systems and their capabilities and to develop procedures and tactics that would govern the use of those systems ahead of their operationalization this fall. The event also gave homeland security stakeholders the opportunity to see the SIGMA+ systems in action and determine their viability.
The demos mark the conclusion of five years of technology development that resulted in tools that, according to Port Authority Chief Security Officer Greg Ehrie, “provide an enhanced layer of vigilance to keep the millions of people who use and work at our facilities safe.”
Mark Wrobel, who managed the technology development program for DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office, praised the agency’s partnership with the Port Authority, saying: “This outstanding cooperation enabled DARPA to test cutting-edge technology in the nation’s largest metropolitan region, which significantly sped up the transition from R&D to operational use.”