The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded Sunnyvale, California-based Kiana Analytics, Inc. $167,686 to develop technology to enhance the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) counting and measuring capabilities at ports of entry.
“More than 100 million passengers enter CBP ports of entry per year,” said Arun Vemury, S&T Program Manager. “With such a high volume of travelers, ensuring efficient processing is key to both customs operations and traveler satisfaction.”
Counting and measuring is the process by which CBP measures and analyzes the flow of travelers through the customs process. High fidelity analysis of this information ensures the timely processing of international travelers and enables the prevention of queue bottlenecks.
This award is part of S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), a streamlined innovation program dedicated to bringing startup and small business innovation into government application.
Kiana Analytics received their award for KianaEngage, a cloud-based solution that integrates anonymous data from non-invasive Bluetooth and WiFi sensors with data from legacy sensors, such as cameras, to provide real-time measurements of crowd behavior and movement. KianaEngage will communicate with both travelers and CBP—calculating, predicting, and reporting wait times per queue to CBP and conveying information on queue times and lane changes to travelers.
“Kiana Analytics has proposed a marriage of new and legacy technologies,” said Melissa Oh, SVIP Managing Director. “In this first phase, Kiana Analytics will demonstrate whether its approach can improve visitor flow and experience.”
This is Kiana Analytics’ second topic award through SVIP and its first under the solicitation High Fidelity Counting and Measuring of CBP Queues and Service Times at Ports of Entry – 70RSAT18R00000001.
Companies participating n the SVIP are eligible for up to $800,000 in non-dilutive funding to adapt commercial technologies for homeland security use cases.
