Click here to view the Newsletter as a webpage.

Director's Message

Dear SENTRY Community,

We are beginning the new year with a focus on sharing our research with the broader community in an effort to build strong networks and develop collaborations that will enhance our ability to secure and protect soft targets and crowded spaces across the country. To that end, in January, we met with members of the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401) which has been tasked with countering small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in the U.S. We briefed them on SENTRY research, test and evaluation capabilities and are planning a follow-up meeting in early February.

Michael B. Silevitch

We invite you to join the SENTRY Strategic Initiatives Virtual Workshop taking place on the afternoons of Wednesday, February 25 and Thursday, February 26, 2026. The focus will be on Protecting Mass Gatherings in the U.S. and we are pleased to have two forward-thinking Keynote Speakers: Captain Jim Bamberger of the Transportation Security Administration on Day One and Greg Waters, CEO of MatrixSpace on Day Two. For the full agenda and information on the registration process to this invite-only event, visit our website.

Hope to see you there virtually!

Research Project Spotlight

Protection of Soft Targets and Crowded Places Using Aerial/Ground Agents

Key Accomplishments:

Real-Time Multi-Modal Dataset for UAS Threat Detection

Developed a comprehensive data set incorporating real-time multi-modal data and sensor fusion techniques for enhanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) threat detection in crowded environments.

Successful Field Test of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Threat Detection

Tested and validated SENTRY unmanned aerial systems at Northeastern’s Kostas Research Institute (KRI) to ensure their effectiveness in protecting soft targets and crowded places through advanced threat detection.

Demonstration of GPS-Denied, Video-Denied, Drone Navigation

Successfully navigated a drone without GPS or camera assistance using the Radar Inertial Odometry system, showcasing its ability to operate in foggy or smoky conditions. Out of 12 tests, the system only missed detecting one person and maintained a zero false alarm rate.

PROBLEM:

This project aims to tackle the inefficiencies of current soft target security systems such as high costs and limited adaptability to new and emerging threats. These inefficiencies overwhelm human operators, resulting in delayed incident response times.

SOLUTION:

The project proposes the creation of a new real-time semi-autonomous system that uses drones and ground robots equipped with various sensors to identify, report, and as a result, reduce threats in crowded areas with minimal human involvement. The focus is on learning about development, testing, and experimental evaluation techniques to improve the system for deploying teams of moving robots and drones capable of navigating different environments for better risk assessment and response to evolving threats.

SENTRY RESEARCH PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Upcoming Events and News

This invite-only, virtual workshop will be held on the afternoons of February 25 and 26, 2026 and focus on presentations from and interactive discussions with security experts from academia, government, industry and public venues.

SENTRY is hosting this event with focused sessions on transportation security, crowd evacuation and counter-unmanned aircraft systems to allow for discussion of best practices and opportunities to enhance protection of soft targets and crowded spaces in the U.S.

If you are interested in joining this online workshop, please reach out to Tiffany Lam at t.lam@northeastern.edu.

LEARN MORE

2025 Best Paper Award to Prof. Jun Zhuang

Prof. Zhuang was presented with the 2025 Best Paper Award from the journal, Risk Analysis for the paper, “Game-Theoretic Optimization on School Safety: Resource Allocation Against Strategic Attacks,” co-authored with PhD student, Sabiha Unal Eyi. This research was sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security through SENTRY and Dr. Zhuang’s award was formally made at the 2025 Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. Congratulations to Dr. Zhuang and his team!

REGISTRATION INFORMATION