Joint Experiments to Gather Data for Security

Stevens Institute of Technology and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have recently conducted joint experiments in the Dutch Navy Harbour of Den Helder, where passive acoustic systems from both parties were combined. Initial experimental results were presented at the Waterside Security (WSS) 2010 conference, held earlier this month. This important experimental campaign was financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Defence.

The collaboration between Stevens and TNO was initiated in early 2010 after recognising a strategic opportunity to form a long-term research relationship and become recognised research leaders in the underwater sciences and engineering and port and maritime security. Among other goals, Stevens and TNO hope to increase the level of readiness against underwater threats in harbors by developing an integrated system that can be used to protect harbors from both surface and underwater intruders.

Michael Bruno, Dean of the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science at Stevens said of the partnership: "Stevens Institute of Technology and TNO each have extraordinary technical expertise and experience in dealing with the numerous challenges facing our maritime community. The partnership also brings together organisations that work closely with two of the most important ports in the world - Stevens with the Port of New York and New Jersey, and TNO with the Port of Rotterdam. My colleagues and I look forward to the challenging work that lies ahead."

"We are excited about the unique collaboration between a US and Dutch institute. With these experiments the potential of passive acoustic detection of underwater intruders has been established. The next step will be testing of the technology in the Rotterdam Harbour," added Koos Verolme, manager of the Sonar Department at TNO.

The WSS 2010 conference brought together professionals from a variety of disciplines all with a common interest in waterside security. Protecting ports, harbors, coastal waters, and inland waters from the threats of terrorism and criminal activity requires innovative thinking in areas as diverse as technology, operations, policy, human factors, risk analysis, international law, and economics.

The paper detailing the initial experimental results was authored by both Stevens and TNO. From Stevens the contributors were Alexander Sutin, Hady Salloum, Nikolay Sedunov and Alexander Sedunov. Laurent Fillinger, Pascal de Theije and Mario Zampolli contributed from TNO.