Project Hostile Intent

This project comes under the Social and Behavioral Research (SBR) Program, one of the three broad program areas within the Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that "sponsors research to inform, develop, and test tools and methodologies to assess terrorist threats, understand terrorism, and improve national security".

The cues examined in Project Hostile Intent are those that can be assessed remotely and in real time, like pulse rate, sweating, restless behavior, and possibly brain scans.

The procedures and technologies required to collect these cues are non-invasive (like surveillance cameras and body heat sensors) and amenable to integration into busy operational contexts, like airports.

In addition to detecting these cues, this project examines whether this process can be automated through the use of sensors and detection algorithms and, subsequently, integrated with other technologies aimed at identifying individuals who pose threats to the US, e.g., biometric tools and databases.

The expected users of this project are U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Transportation Security Administration personnel.