California-based technology innovator Intellisense Systems Inc. (ISI) has been awarded a new US$3.26m contract by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to further develop and deploy its flood warning system.
Intellisense was one of three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program performers whose flood sensors were field-deployed across six state and local government jurisdictions and evaluated over a period of nine months. Based upon the operations and performance reviews by the stakeholders, the DHS has awarded Intellisense a new SBIR Phase 3 contract to further enhance the sensors for production and commercialization for both domestic and international partners to help densify their flood sensing networks for alerts, warnings and notifications. Building on the previous development contracts, this third phase of the program will focus on the final development, commercialization, and production of ISI’s AWARE Flood (Advance Warning Equipment) systems for targeted nationwide deployment.
With its fully integrated solar power management, IoT (Internet of Things) wireless communications, and networking capabilities, the AWARE Flood system can be installed in urban and rural communities without significant infrastructure investment to provide low-cost flood monitoring and reporting. These units will be quality-controlled and produced in quantities of 100 each week, scaling to 250 per week over several months. Intellisense will then demonstrate the capacity to produce 1000 units per week to meet the demands of additional orders placed directly by states and municipalities.
Of particular interest to transportation agencies and infrastructure operators, ISI’s AWARE real-time flood forecasting and reporting unit informs on water levels under continuous solar-and-battery power and communicates with nearby nodes via wireless mesh digital radio. The flood inundation sensor monitors waterway levels and detects flash floods for transportation safety. Intellisense is best known for its lightweight, unattended Micro Weather Sensor that monitors and reports localized weather conditions wherever it is deployed, from anywhere in the world.
Jeff Booth, of DHS S&T, said, “I fully expect the Intellisense flood sensors to be a disruptive technology where the accuracy, performance, and dependability of the sensors and their projected cost points will provide federal, state, and local governments as well as industry sectors like critical infrastructure, a capability to help protect life and property, making communities more resilient from flooding events.”
David Miller, ISI’s vice president of products and engineering, said, “To date, we have delivered over 200 production-quality prototypes to emergency management and flood resilience teams around the country responsible for the protection of our nation’s communities affected by flooding. We worked hand in hand with these experts over the last three years, and our ability to rapidly evolve the AWARE design based on their feedback is what has driven us to deliver the best product on the market for flood monitoring.”
