Sentinel is currently in development and we are progressing as planned. Release of phase 1 is currently scheduled for August 2023. Stayed tuned for further updates.

February 16, 2023

We’re proud to announce that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has named us a second-place winner in Mission Daybreak. The $20 million grand challenge is part of VA’s 10-year strategy to end Veteran suicide through a comprehensive, public health approach.

Through Mission Daybreak’s prize pool and virtual accelerator program that offered access to dedicated resources, mentors, and datasets, VA made a historic investment in the suicide prevention ecosystem of support. VA received more than 1,300 submissions from Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, community-based organizations, health tech companies, startups and universities.

Learn about our innovative #suicideprevention solution Sentinel on Mission Daybreak.

If you’re a Veteran having thoughts of suicide or you know one who is, contact the Veterans Crisis Line 24/7/365 days a year. Dial 988 then press 1, chat online at http://veteranscrisisline.net/Chat, or text to 838255.

The Sentinel application was conceived in 2014 and most application requirements were determined at that time. Requirements have continued to evolve over the intervening years as new information was assimilated. 

Phase 1
This initial phase includes all basic Sentinel functions including Veteran Network, Safety Team, Time Locks, and Learning Center. The following tasks have been COMPLETED as of October 2022: Gather Requirements, System UI Design, Create Application Prototype, Prototype Review. We are now ready to begin with development. This phase will be completed around August 2023.

Phase 2
This phase includes adding voice control to most Sentinel functions. Veterans will be able to say “Hey Sentinel, emergency” or “Hey Sentinel, unlock devices”. The following tasks have been scheduled to begin June 2023: Create Alexa “skills” (Create a skill for each voice command), Tie skills into Sentinel (Execute skills and return command data), Test Voice commands (Test commands using various speakers), Release Sentinel v2 for Android and IOS. This phase should be completed around February 2024.

Phase 3
This may be the most ambitious phase as we will create a Deeply Integrated Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVA) to perform periodic, targeted veteran check-ins. IVAs are AI-powered software that can engage with veterans in a conversational way. They’re essentially digital assistants that can understand human speech and respond the same way a person would. Although sometimes confused with chatbots, virtual agents are actually much more sophisticated. And since recent advancements in AI are making IVAs easy-to-use and cost-effective, more and more businesses are adopting virtual agents instead of simple chatbots.

The demand for counseling outstrips supply to such a degree that they will not align for the foreseeable future. It is our belief that the use of IVAs will become widespread and will enhance or replace many such services currently provided by humans. Our IVA will be used to perform periodic check-ins with veterans.

The following tasks have been scheduled to begin January 2024: Gather training data (Gather training data from VCL and other sources), Train IVA (Use training data to train IVA), Test IVA (Test IVA dialogs with multiple situations, phrasing and speakers. Retrain and add response constraints as needed), Release Sentinel v3 for Android and IOS. This phase should be completed around November 2024.