The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) funds two programs managed by the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation: BIRD Homeland Security (HLS), a joint initiative established in 2015 with the Israel Ministry of National Security (IMNS); and BIRD Cyber, launched in 2022 in partnership with the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD). Both BIRD HLS and BIRD Cyber support collaborative U.S.-Israeli research and development to advance innovative homeland security technologies of mutual benefit to both countries.
BIRD HLS
BIRD HLS supports collaboration between U.S. and Israeli companies, academia, and other research institutions to develop advanced technologies for homeland security needs. The program provides conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, funding up to 50 percent of the joint project budget, to advance solutions with commercial potential to improve public security.
Since 2015, DHS S&T and IMNS have partnered to fund technology collaboration between U.S. and Israeli R&D projects with significant commercial potential to address the homeland security needs of both countries.
BIRD Cyber
BIRD Cyber, a joint initiative of DHS S&T and INCD, supports collaborative projects between U.S. and Israeli companies, academia, and other research institutions to develop advanced cybersecurity applications for mission-critical homeland security needs. The program provides grants of up to $1.5 million per project, funding up to 50 percent of the combined research and development budget for projects to strengthen the cyber resilience of the United States and Israel.
BIRD HLS awards up to $1 million in funding to projects proposed jointly by U.S. and Israeli companies, selected by DHS S&T and Israel’s IMNS, and approved by the BIRD Foundation’s Board of Governors to advance technologies for homeland security. The following are the BIRD HLS projects selected from 2016 to 2023 to receive awards.
2023
- Data Blanket (Bellevue, Washington) and NextVision Stabilized Systems (Raanana, Israel) will develop an airborne sensors and computer vision system for wildfire suppression and real-time situation awareness in HLS and disaster response applications.
- Inspire Labs (New York, New York) and Validit.ai (Haifa, Israel) will develop a real-time biofeedback-based fraud detection platform for HLS-wide field deployment.
2022
- CyberBee (Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel) and EyeCloud.AI (San Jose, California) will develop a personal mini AI autonomous UAV fit for HLS-wide deployment that will enable first responders to operate in indoor GPS-denied environments. The project will combine CyberBee's vision-based spatial intelligence with EyeCloud’s improved edge-AI camera capabilities and real-time cloud processing solutions.
2021
- Sagetech Avionics (White Salmon, Washington) and Ciconia (Ness Ziona, Israel) will develop a collision avoidance system that would allow first responders to operate aerial vehicles alongside manned aircraft.
2020
- Liberty Defense Technologies (Peachtree Corners, Georgia) and Levitection (Haifa, Israel) will develop a detection solution based on electromagnetic imaging and artificial intelligence to detect threats and concealed items in wide-open areas.
2019
- Easy Aerial (Brooklyn, New York) and Blue White Robotics (Tel Aviv, Israel) work to develop a multi-mission, multi-type HLS drone command & control capability.
- 3AM Innovations (Buffalo, New York) and S.H. Goren Management (Emek Hefer, Israel) work to complete the development of an indoor positioning wearable for First Responders.
- LiveView Technologies (Orem, Utah) and Cawamo (Hod Hasharon, Israel) work to develop a fully turn-key artificial intelligence-based analytics video security solution for remote sites.
2018
- TLC Solutions (St. Augustine, Florida) and ELTA Systems (Ashdod, Israel), a group and subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries, work to develop an advanced drone-mounted search and rescue system for locating victims under ruins and in disaster areas by accurate location of their cellular phones.
- Allstate Sprinkler Corp. (Bronx, New York) and HiRiseTech (Petach Tikva, Israel) work to develop a first responders emergency radio repeater system for existing high-rise buildings.
2017
- Mantaro Networks Inc. (Germantown, Maryland) and Beeper Communications Israel (Ramat Gan, Israel) work to develop an unmanned search and rescue system.
- M87, Inc. (Bellevue, Washington) and Elbit Systems Land and C4I Ltd. (Netanya, Israel) work to develop public safety off-network broadband communications using multi-hop WiFi/LTE/D2D communications (ProSE) technology.
- Sinclair Community College (Dayton, Ohio) and Simlat, Ltd (Petah-Tikva, Israel) work to develop an autonomous drone-based search & rescue solution.
2016
- Opto Knowledge Systems, Inc (Torrance, California) and SayVU Technologies Ltd (Tel Aviv, Israel) work to develop an indoor positioning, locating, and reporting system.
BIRD Cyber awards up to $1.5 million in funding to projects proposed jointly by U.S. and Israeli companies, selected by DHS S&T and Israel’s INCD, and approved by the BIRD Foundation’s Board of Governors to enhance cyber resilience in both the United States and Israel. The following are the BIRD Cyber projects selected to receive awards in the first solicitation cycle of the BIRD Cyber program.
2022-2023
- Trend Micro (Irving, Texas) and Rescana (Tel Aviv, Israel) will develop an operational cyber threat intelligence capability to inform cyber risk maritime decision-making;
- Bastazo (Fayetteville, Arkansas) and Salvador Technologies (Rehovot, Israel) will develop a solution for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) vulnerability management, monitoring, and rapid recovery from cyber-attacks; and,
- South Jersey Transportation Authority (Hammonton, New Jersey) and Pentera Security (Petach Tikva, Israel) will develop and implement an airport cyber protection solution across the entire attack surface.
For more information and current funding opportunities, visit the BIRD webpage: www.birdf.com