Geo-location Requirements for UXO Discrimination (Guidance Document)

Abstract

Abstract : The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) sponsored the development and operation of Standardized Test Sites at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland, and Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), Arizona. The purpose of these sites is to provide a means for characterizing the performance of technologies under development for the detection and discrimination of Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC), which include Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Discarded Military Munitions (DMM). ESTCP Project MM-0413 implemented standardized, data-level evaluations of demonstration performance at the Standardized UXO Test Sites in order to support an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the various UXO detection and discrimination sensors [2]. Generally speaking the conclusions drawn by MM-0413 were disappointing. Only a relatively small fraction of the survey data analyzed for that project was accurate enough to support reliable feature-based target classification and discrimination. Even when the target Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) was relatively high the quality of the estimated target parameters was frequently relatively poor. This suggests that the problems are due to deficiencies in the surveys, e.g. sensor location errors. This report presents the results on an analysis of the effects of sensor location errors (geo-location errors) on target classification and discrimination performance, and provides guidance on the geo-location accuracy requirements for reliable target classification. This report summarizes the geo-location requirements for UXO discrimination based on inversion of spatially mapped data. We distinguish between absolute position accuracy needed for target reacquisition and the relative accuracy needed to support data inversion. Much of the material in this report was presented at the SERDP/ESTCP Geo-location Workshop held in Annapolis, MD in June 2005.