Counterterrorism And Response Technologies (CART)

The Counterterrorism And Response Technologies (CART) program at OLES promotes innovative standards, science, and technologies that directly benefit the public safety community and enhance the safety of the public at large.

The CART program makes science work for the public safety community. We partner with NIST laboratories, other Federal agencies, standard development organizations, and academia to:

• Conduct basic and applied research
• Publish comprehensive technical reports
• Develop test methods and procedures
• Create standard reference materials
• Provide advice and technical assistance
• Develop performance standards and user guides

CART leverages funding from NIST, DHS and other agencies to integrate efforts between individuals and agencies. Further, we provide a bridge between the public safety community and the Federal Government for scientific issues related to counterterrorism, security and emergency response. CART is actively involved in the areas of:

• Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE)
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)
• Trace Explosives and Non-Invasive Technologies
• Less-Than-Lethal (LTL) Technologies
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

News

Article on NIST's Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) standards work with robots.

A new report by computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstrates that iris recognition algorithms can maintain their accuracy and interoperability with compact images, affirming their potential for large-scale identity management applications such as the federal Personal Identity Verification program, cyber security and counterterrorism.

CART managed programs have resulted in:

1. NIOSH CBRN Respiratory Standards for SCBA, PAPR, APR and Escape Masks
   
2. NIJ Law Enforcement PPE & Selection Guide
3. NIJ Draft Bomb Suit Standard
4. IEEE radiation detection standards
   
5. IEEE  training modules for radiation detectors
6. ASTM point chemical detector standard
7. ASTM standard for verification of  minimum performance of Trace Explosive Detectors
8. Supported ongoing development of conformity assessment models