Today, as hundreds of thousands descended on Washington, D.C., for Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, officials and first responders employed a new helicopter and cutting-edge software to help ensure public safety.
Several recent incidents, such as the New Orleans truck attack and a Tesla Cybertruck bombing, have heightened concerns among U.S. officials about potential domestic terrorism or lone wolf actors.
In advance of Inauguration Day, D.C. Police remained on high alert for copycat attacks, and employed increased security efforts with technologies that included a new state-of-the-art helicopter to help monitor crowd parameters and spot any suspicious vehicles or unauthorized rooftop activity.
Last year, D.C. Police announced that it had acquired the new Airbus H-125 helicopter, enabling faster responses, greater overall agility, and greater fuel efficiency than the AS 350 B3 previously used.
The new aircraft is equipped with a state-of-the-art camera system, allowing its onboard crew to collect high-resolution imagery and send it back to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Real-Time Crime Center.
Despite the main events being moved indoors due to extreme cold, D.C. area police anticipated crowds gathering across the city for today’s event, employing the helicopter and other existing surveillance capabilities to help oversee city-wide activities and crowd movements.
However, not all potential dangers can be spotted by helicopters and traditional surveillance systems.
“If something is released into the air, whether nefarious, industrial, or accidental, first responders need to know where it’s going, how fast it’s traveling, and what the potential impact is,” explained Adam Moses, a computer scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and innovator behind Contaminant Transport Analyst, or CT-Analyst®, which employs unique 3D mapping and modeling capabilities that enable public safety officials to track the potential spread of any chemical, biological, or radioactive substances in real-time.
The specialized NRL software is designed to be integrated with a range of widely used applications, making it a formidable capability for emergency response teams at large public events, especially those held in sensitive locations like the nation’s capital.
Designed with the ability to rapidly predict the shape and direction of any potentially hazardous plumes, the game-changing software equips first responders with the ability to make swift, informed decisions if an airborne threat is detected.
“CT-Analyst is easy to use with minimal training, integrates complex 3D geometry and current wind conditions, and greatly reduces the chance of mistakes,” said Dr. Jay Boris, NRL’s Chief Scientist for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics.
Moses and Boris say the software’s versatility becomes especially evident when deployed in urban settings, where its high-resolution 3D models can process information about how hazardous materials spread through buildings, intersections, and city streets.
“You don’t have two minutes to waste, let alone an hour or more,” said Moses, noting that the program’s ability to quickly adapt to changing conditions makes it particularly valuable during emergency situations, especially those where large crowds are present.
Previously, CT-Analyst was used at other major events that including the Academy Awards and the Grammys.
Today marked the program’s fifth use at a presidential inauguration.
“We are continuously developing the program,” Moses said. “The goal is to provide the fastest and most accurate hazardous plume modeling tool for both military and civilian first responders.”
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.