Active

Contract Opportunity

Opportunity:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to enter into a collaboration to further develop and commercialize its novel Active Shooter Detection, Localization and Tracking in Enclosed Spaces.

Background:

Determining the exact location of an indoor shooter(s) has been a technical challenge for companies that develop sensors intended for law enforcement and national security applications. And with the increased number of high-profile mass shootings, whether in schools, military bases, or shopping malls, there is an urgent need for more accurate indoor shooter detection systems that are also low-cost since many institutions that would benefit are budget-constrained.

False alarms could cause an emergency evacuation and armed response. Not only is there a risk for accidental shooting by law enforcement to a nonevent, having multiple false positives would undermine overall confidence in the system (e.g. building occupants become complacent to an alarm event). Another major challenge is indoor places are comprised of enclosed spaces, which inherently have obstructions. These impediments (e.g. walls, ceilings, intersecting hallways, furniture) cause any propagated sound or signals to bounce and bend, spreading then in a multitude of directions while also distorting both their shape and amplitudes, thereby making localization extremely difficult.

Presently, there are few successful technologies available in the market that could detect and locate the shooter(s) indoors in a real-time manner, which could enable first responders to respond quickly and mitigate further violence. However, LLNL researchers have developed a novel approach to accurately retrace acoustic sounds even in cluttered indoor environments using time-reversal focusing. Time-reversal is a simple concept that many of us have observed when viewing a movie of a building demolition; running the movie in-reverse allows us to visually reconstruct the building. Similarly, time-reversal can be applied to “unravel” propagating acoustic (source) signals due to inherent obstructions in an enclosed environment

Description:

The key to time-reversal for an active shooter detection/tracking application is being able to estimate the space-time transfer function (Green’s function) between source-enclosure-receiver. This approach begins with the acoustic mapping of an indoor muzzle blast. This is accomplished with a synthetically generated sound that accurately mimics a discharged firearm. The synthetic sound is used to calibrate the indoor environment so that deployed sensors can interpret and locate the origin of a gunshot, i.e. the location of a shooter in an event can be identified. Additionally, with the building or space thoroughly ‘mapped’, a shooter can be “tracked” by subsequent discharges of the firearm within the building. The technology is relatively low cost and meets the accuracy required for emergency response systems.

Advantages/Benefits:

The sensor network was developed to be low cost and extremely accurate. These are two major requirements for commercialization success. No other technology has been commercialized that can meet the accuracy while also inexpensive to deploy. This should enable budget-constrained public schools, universities, commercial and government building managements to acquire this technology to improve safety in their indoor facilities.

LLNL’s technology has a number of advantages:

1. Accurate locator


2. Tracking ability


3. Low cost


4. Accurate sound discrimination

Potential Applications:

LLNL’s novel approach can accurately locate and track active shooters in indoor spaces and has been designed to be installed in many types of buildings (e.g. public school, universities, government, commercial/retail, transportation centers like airports).

It can provide first responders with near real time information of the moment a shot was discharged, its location within a building and when the shooter has moved and discharged a gun in a new location.

Development Status:

LLNL has patent protections on this technology:

U.S. Patent No. 11495243 Localization based on time-reversed event sounds published 11/8/2022.

Current stage of technology development: TRL 8

LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information.

Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/resources for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's Active Shooter Detection, Localization and Tracking in Enclosed Spaces should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following:

1. Company Name and address.

2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact.

3. A description of corporate expertise and/or facilities relevant to commercializing this technology.

Written responses should be directed to:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Innovation and Partnerships Office

P.O. Box 808, L-779

Livermore, CA 94551-0808

Attention: IL-13519

Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's Active Shooter Detection, Localization and Tracking in Enclosed Spaces.

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