NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee State University professor has won a $334,000 grant to explore developing technology that would improve the capability of automated surveillance systems.

Dr. Amir Shirkhodaie is a professor in the College of Engineering and director of the Center of Excellence for Battlefield Sensor Fusion. He got the grant after submitting a proposal to the U.S. Army Research Office.

Officials say a major problem U.S. military counter-insurgency operations face is the ability to identify hostile enemy group intent and hidden dangers in obstructed environments.

Shirkhodaie says he hopes to develop a way to detect obscure group activities in areas such as inside a vehicle, boat, airplanes or corner alleys of urban areas.

Maj. Jay Deason is an aviator with the Tennessee Army National Guard. He believes bringing such technology to the battlefield would be a "game-changer."