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Public safety

National Security Standards

Providing national security professionals with the innovative technical solutions and information they need to prevent and respond to terrorism

Exoskeleton composite image

Exoskeleton Technical Interchange Meeting: Jan 26-27, 2017
B-Temia Dermoskeleton

Robotic Exoskeletons: The Standards Gap
detector

New Spectrometry Standard for Handheld Chemical Detectors Aids First Responders

We work to improve public safety and security through science-based standards. We do this by promoting innovative technologies, fostering communications, and building enduring partnerships with federal, state, local, private sector, and international partners.

We focus on developing technical standards related to national security, including measurement science and standards for Chemical/Biological/Radiological/Nuclear/Explosive (CBRNE) detection, personal protective equipment (PPE), and physical infrastructure resilience and security.

Our efforts support the 2011 National Strategy for CBRNE Standards through improved interagency collaboration for standards development.

News and Updates

Projects and Programs

Fire Debris and Explosives

Ongoing
Fire Debris Fire debris analysis involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data of debris collected from fire scenes. Samples are typically analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry which results in a complicated chromatogram that must be interpreted. Projects in this area are
Photo of blood droplets

Toxicology

Ongoing
Development of Low-Volume Drop Blood Drug Screening Tools This project aims to leverage recent NIST advances in ambient ionization mass spectrometry to develop platforms for low-volume blood drug screening. Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) and Paper Spray Ionization Mass

Open Port Liquid Interface Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing
Rapid screening for chemical traces of explosives and narcotics is widely used to support homeland security and law enforcement. These target compounds span a range of physicochemical properties from organic to inorganic, with preferential ionization pathways in both negative and positive mode
Photograph of a dog sniffing luggage.

Metrology and Standards for Canine Olfactory Detection of Explosives

Effective and accepted by the public, trained dogs are the most frequently deployed detection systems for identification of explosives threats in mobile applications. In addition to being highly sensitive, dogs can rapidly discriminate the unique profile of an explosive in a presence of a large

Publications

Field-Deployable Devices

Author(s)
Thomas P. Forbes, Raychelle Burks
Reductions in instrument size, weight, and power continue to facilitate the development and application of field-deployable devices for investigative purposes

Tools and Instruments

Large Aperture Scanner

Large Aperture Scanner

The Large Aperture Scanner (LAS) scans a radar transceiver over a 5 meter by 20 meter aperture. Image reconstruction techniques enable a three-dimensional
Smiths Detection_6046si

Cabinet x-ray system

The Smiths Detection 6046si cabinet x-ray system was designed for security screening of bags, parcels and other objects of similar size. The system runs at 160
X-ray backscatter systems

X-ray Backscatter Systems

X-ray backscatter systems are used for the screening of personnel for hidden weapons and other contraband. Unlike conventional radiographic x-ray systems
Reference Ballistic Chronograph Figure 1

Reference Ballistic Chronograph

The NIST-developed reference ballistic chronograph (RBC) provides repeatable measurements of the speed of a bullet that will impact a test article, such as