# Federated Sensing Grid A **federated sensing grid** is a distributed environment in which observations can be accessed or exchanged under separate ownership, authority, and governance rather than produced by one monolithic sensor operator. The term describes an architectural pattern, not a claim that every available sensor feeds one unified system. GAO reported in December 2024 that selected DHS law-enforcement components used more than twenty types of detection, observation, and monitoring technology in fiscal year 2023. The inventory included agency-owned or leased technologies and technologies accessed through commercial vendors or other law-enforcement agencies; selected components also used analytical software, including AI-based tools, to enhance those technologies. ## Relationships - **feeds:** [[wiki/Intelligence Fusion|Intelligence Fusion]], [[wiki/Real-Time Observability|Real-Time Observability]], and [[wiki/Predictive Policing|Predictive Policing]]. - **governed by:** [[wiki/Federated Trust Fabric|Federated Trust Fabric]], [[wiki/Assurance Infrastructure|Assurance Infrastructure]], [[wiki/Authorized Use|Authorized Use]], and [[wiki/Provenance|Provenance]]. - **distinguished from:** one organization owning or controlling every sensor. - **collection route:** [[wiki/Counterterrorism Collection - Fusion and Surveillance|Fusion and Surveillance]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [GAO — Law Enforcement: DHS Could Better Address Bias Risk and Enhance Privacy Protections for Technologies Used in Public, December 3, 2024](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107302) **As of:** 2026-09-23