The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $189,863 today to iProov Ltd. of London, England, to improve the screening process for international passengers. This is the first award to an international company from S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP).
“Seeking innovative approaches to further the homeland security mission is the driving force behind what we do at S&T,” said William N. Bryan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “Through the SVIP, DHS explores pioneering technologies from the innovative minds of start-ups. In this case, we’re looking for technology that could facilitate the lawful and seamless entry of travelers through even our most remote ports of entry. We’re excited to be working with partners in the United Kingdom to develop advanced solutions to our shared security challenges.”
“The UK and US are world leaders in cyber security. Through close cooperation across various sectors, trade between the two countries has grown to £181.2 billion pounds ($258 billion) in 2017 – making the US our largest trading partner and biggest export market,” said Dr Liam Fox, Secretary of State for the UK Department for International Trade. “One example of our shared economic and security ties is UK-based iProov technology which uses cutting-edge facial biometric verification technology to enhance security and deter those who seek to cause harm.”
The effort is awarded under the DHS S&T SVIP Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS) Enhancing CBP Airport Passenger Processing – HSHQDC-16-R-00115seeking novel approaches to improve U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations and the international arrivals process. Every day, CBP officers process more than one million international travelers across 328 ports of entry, some of which are in remote locations.
Under this award, iProov will develop a proof of concept for an integrated solution to allow travelers to quickly transit remote border ports of entry. This new capability could potentially enable users to optionally utilize their personal devices to report their entry and exit to CBP with a secure, privacy focused mobile application. Called Remote ID Interrogation and Verification for Borders (RIDIVERB), iProov’s project would enhance CBP’s ability to streamline cross-border travel at ports of entry while maintaining a high degree of confidence in the identity and status of the traveler.
“S&T looks forward to seeing the ways iProov’s project could improve CBP’s ability to process remote border transits, as well as defend against passenger impersonation,” said Anil John, S&T Identity Management R&D Program Manager.
Companies participating in the SVIP are eligible for up to $800,000 in non-dilutive funding to adapt commercial technologies for homeland security use cases.
