Block MEMS of Southborough, MA announced on July 30 that it has been awarded a $3.5M contract from the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA), as part of the SIGMA+ Program. The goal of the program is to develop a persistent, real-time, early detection system for the full spectrum of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) threats at the city-to-region scale.
The SIGMA+ program builds on DARPA’s previous SIGMA program, which
began in 2014 as an effort to significantly advance scalable detection
capabilities to counter the threat of radiological and nuclear (RN) WMDs. SIGMA
developed thousands of high-capability, low-cost detectors and networked them
to demonstrate large-scale, continuously-streaming physical sensor networks.
The work will be done under a collaborative effort, led by SRI
International, called Localization and Characterization of Chemical Anomalies
in Urban Settings (LOCCUS). LOCCUS will combine SRI’s point sensing technology
with Block’s standoff sensing technology to deliver an adaptive,
high-sensitivity, ruggedized detection capability that exceeds chemical sensing
capabilities today.
Dr. Anish Goyal, Block’s VP of technology and principal
investigator of the contract, commented, “The SIGMA+ contract extends
Block’s standoff, chemical detection capabilities to the real-time, monitoring
and mapping of urban environments. Block’s QCL technology and advanced
algorithms are ideally suited for this application and we look forward to the
development and, ultimately, deployment of such systems by operational partners.”
“This is a great opportunity to partner with DARPA and SRI
International in the creation of technologies that promote global safety and
security,” said Al Weggeman, Block’s president.
Under this contract, Block MEMS will leverage its eye-safe laser capability to generate chemical detection maps via standoff sensing in a complex three-dimensional urban topography.
Source: Block MEMS
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