Multiple-beam LDV system for buried landmine detection

Abstract

This paper discusses the performance and experimental results of a multiple beam laser Doppler vibrometer designed to locate buried landmines with the laser-acoustic technique. The device increases the speed of landmine detection by simultaneously probing 16 positions on the ground over a span of 1 meter, and measuring the ground velocity at each of these positions. Experimental results are presented from controlled laboratory experiments as well as from landmine test lanes at the University of Mississippi. In the mine lanes, the multiple beam system is raised to a height of 2.5 meters with a forklift, with the 16 beams spread over a 1 meter line along the mine lane. A motor system then allows the 16 beams to be translated across the mine lane, enabling the system to scan a 1 x 1 meter area in a much shorter time than with previous scanning techniques. The effects of experimental parameters such as platform motion, angle of incidence, speckle dropout, and system depth-of-field will be presented and discussed.