DHS seeking applicants for Privacy Technology Demonstration event

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is looking for companies that develop technology that enhances privacy.

It’s for a first-time event called the 2020 Privacy Technology Demonstration, a showcase for technologies intended to protect the privacy of individuals by obfuscating or encrypting faces in videos.

There are legitimate concerns with video technologies in that they can be misused to recognize and track individuals. DHS is seeking to engage the industry in evaluating and developing capabilities to these concerns.

”Security and privacy do not need to be a zero-sum game,” Arun Vemury, director of DHS S&T’s Biometric and Identity Technology Center, said. “New camera technologies with advanced edge processing capabilities, as well as video obfuscation technologies, may help organizations to continue to provide public safety while protecting the privacy of individuals and guarding against technology misuse.”

DHS S&T seeks full or partial systems capable of collecting and processing video footage, such that the faces of any recorded individuals are obfuscated and cannot be identified by humans or by face recognition algorithms. Providers selected to participate in the 2020 Privacy Technology Demo will have a chance to demonstrate capabilities to government and private sector stakeholders in September 2020.

Applications should be submitted by April 30.