USC helps launch new security app


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A new computer application designed by USC’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events Homeland Security Center will aid in increasing security and terrorism-prevention, the United States Coast Guard announced Wednesday.

The application was created for the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.

The Port Resilience Operational and Tactical Enforcement to Combat Terrorism system, known as ARMOR-PROTECT, randomizes Coast Guard boat patrol schedules using algorithms, making patrol patterns unpredictable for enemies planning an attack. The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center contracted the project.

ARMOR-PROTECT, which was created by computer science professor Milind Tambe, was launched Feb. 1.

The Coast Guard is currently assessing the software at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, which have the eighth-highest container traffic in the world. There are plans to eventually implement the program at 361 ports nationwide.

In 2007, the ARMOR software was first used to randomize the scheduling of patrolling officers at police checkpoints on roads leading to the Los Angeles International Airport. Most recently, the program has been implemented on the Los Angeles rail system to prevent passengers from evading the fare.

The application received the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice lfrom the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.