TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONWhere the Public and Private Sectors Converge
DHS S&T recently hosted its annual Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Demo Week, bringing together federal government and startup communities to exhibit new technologies, talk through ideas and identify opportunities for future collaboration.
Inventions were center stage at the Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) annual Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Demo Week in May. Hosted at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Headquarters in Alexandria, VA, the home of USPTO’s National Inventors Hall of Fame, the spirit of innovation was celebrated over two days of exposition, demonstration, and thought leadership.
SVIP reshapes how government, entrepreneurs, and industry work together to strengthen national security through cutting-edge technology solutions, and Demo Week allows S&T’s startup partners to showcase their current crop of new designs to both public and private sector audiences. Ultimately, the event serves as a space where the innovation community—both nationally and internationally—can connect and find ways to harness the commercial research and development (R&D) ecosystem for technologies with government applications and accelerate technology transition-to-market.
“In this room, we have disruptors, dreamers, and even the occasional tech bro. It’s like the ultimate mashup of Silicon Valley meets Capitol Hill,” said SVIP Managing Director Melissa Oh. “It’s a place for government and startups to converge in pursuit of innovation and progress.”
Oh kicked off the event by explaining how the best innovations happen when diverse perspectives collide. The Apollo 11 moon landing is proof of that, she said. And crab traps actually inspired NASA’s model for the craft’s landing legs—a nod to the inventiveness that can take place in building government technology. Similarly, one of SVIP’s most successful R&D efforts—Maritime Object Tracking Technology (MOTT), used for accurately marking and monitoring objects in the water for recovery—started out as a lobster crate equipped with a dog collar.
“We are seeing a tidal wave of dual-use technologies, where commercial tech meets national security, and it’s propelling economic growth and improving public services,” Oh said.
SVIP is often an entry point for startups that might not have otherwise worked with government. For instance, Birmingham, AL-based SVIP startup Analytical AI was recently awarded a $20 million contract with the Department of Homeland Security for its image-based artificial intelligence (AI), used for object recognition screening at airports. The development of those algorithms also enabled the company to work with the U.S. Army to outfit the next generation of mine-resistant ambush resistant vehicles with AI-powered ability to screen for possible IEDs.