Home : Research : Projects : Protection of Ports and Harbors

There are 360 US ports and harbors that handle trillions of dollars worth of commerce annually. Many of these facilities are in close proximity to large metropolitan centers. The industries associated with these commercial centers include a variety of highly toxic, flammable, and explosive materials. Damage to or destruction of containers storing these substances pose a vulnerability to critical US infrastructure, a disruption of commerce, and an endangerment to the surrounding population.

The agencies tasked with securing and protecting this critical infrastructure are spread too thin. Federal, state, and local agencies find themselves with a massive area to protect populated by facilities that, for the most part, reside in the private sector. Technology can provide a force multiplier to assist these agencies perform their vital role of keeping America safe.

The Penn State research team proposes a combination of sensor systems providing discrete and overlapping data transmission to a central processing location where the data is fused along with intelligence and human inputs into a common operating picture to alert operators of suspicious activity. In addition to modifying raw data inputs into actionable intelligence, the system would store data allowing the information to be accessed and compared to current information. Deviations between the data could also provide sufficient cause to prompt human review.

Five separate elements comprise the system:

• A broad area (active or passive) sensor net tethered to the water floor.
• An Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) containing a tailored sensor package to patrol beneath the water's surface or surreptitiously investigate a specific area or object when directed by an operator.
• A series of electro-optical (EO) telescopes capable of focusing scanning the port area or focusing on areas of interest with infra-red or thermal imagery.
• The Automatic Information System (AIS) being fielded at ports and certain sized vessels.
• A command and control center providing the nexus for the sensor data, fusion center, and display suite. The accompanying figure illustrates the concept.

The concept described above is capable of providing essential input to responders across all missions of homeland security management. The surveillance will provide real-time, actionable intelligence to enforcement personnel discriminating between activities that are normal and those that require further investigation. The system simultaneously provides unobtrusive protection for the privately owned critical infrastructure within the ports and harbors commercial areas. Should the unthinkable happen and an incident occur, these same systems can provide invaluable assistance to direct first responders to precise locations of damage while avoid the endangerment of other personnel. Finally, the sensors can buffer the area from further attack or other activity that could inhibit recovery efforts in the vicinity of the damage.

Continued work on the above system is under consideration for a DHS grant and is of considerable interest to the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security.

• Maritime and Border Security Division
• Science & Technology Directorate Command, Control, and Interoperability Division
• Science & Technology Directorate

• Passive and Active Sensors
• Infrared and Thermal Sensors
• Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Data Integration, Fusion, and Display

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David Hall, Information Sciences and Technology
James Kisenwether, Applied Research Lab
William Kiser, Electro Optics Center

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