IDSS and One Resonance received the top two monetary awards in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Opioid Detection Challenge.
The $1.55 million global competition searches for rapid, nonintrusive detection tools that will help find illicit opioids in international mail.
IDSS will receive the grand prize of $500,000 for its detection solution, which combines a 3D X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner with automated detection algorithms. The runner-up, One Resonance, will receive $250,000 for its QROD system, a quadrupole resonance technology that uses radio-frequency signals to search for specific materials. An alarm is triggered when a signal associated with an illicit substance is detected.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) also participated in the effort.
Earlier this year, eight finalists received $100,000 each and advanced to the next stage of the Challenge.
“The influx of illicit drugs is one of the nation’s greatest threats,” said William N. Bryan, DHS senior official Performing the Duties of Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “Through this combined effort to address the trafficking of opioids, S&T, our federal partners, and the private sector have produced technology solutions that will better protect the American people from the effects of this devastating crisis.”