Detection Of Improvised Explosive Devices Research Articles

Analysis of Imaging Characteristics of Wide-field Lobster Eye Lens

The lobster-eye lens is a reflected type focusing optics. It can be used for backscattering imaging that is a single-sided access technology for homeland security, detection of improvised explosive devices, non-destructive testing, and medical imaging. The aim of this study was to investigate the imaging characteristic of meridional lobster-eye lens with a planar imaging surface. The larger the field of view, the greater the spherical aberration, and the larger the field curvature of the edge field of view. Both spherical aberration and field curvature increase the size of the focal spot, and the images become blurry. Rays with a large angle of grazing incidence have large spherical aberration and curvature. The reflectivity of these rays drops sharply as the energy of photons increases. Therefore, spherical aberration and field curvature have a greater effect on photons with low energy. These conclusions can help improve the design of a lobster-eye lens for wide-field imaging applications.

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Equipped with Ground Penetrating Radar for Improvised Explosives Detection

The article presents some objectives and results of the European Defense Agency Program on: Improvised Explosive Devices Detection (IEDDET Program)[1]. The goal of the article is to describe the work, results and recommendations regarding Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) - contributions within the MUSICODE project. Its scope and goals were presented, which are in line with the objectives of the IEDDET Program taking into consideration that the recommendations (for UGV and GPR) are related to the goals, not the results of MUSICODE project. There were described scenarios and the resulting changes in the structure implemented in the UGV - the FLORIAN robot which served as a sensors carrier including Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The main focus of the article is to find the answer to the research question: what is an impact of using the GPR to be mounted on the UGV to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the UGV construction and the GPR results. The structure of this radar was described and examples of tests results were presented. The summary presents recommendations for the construction of an unmanned land platform to carry sensors used in the work carried out in the MUSICODE project and conclusions regarding GPR, resulting from the experiences gained under the IEDDET Program.

Introductory notes for the Acta IMEKO special section on the IMEKO TC17 co-sponsored international conference ISMCR’2019

The ELROB'2018 competition brought together teams focusing on applications related to civilian security missions, the detection of improvised explosive devices (terrorist threat) and the evacuation of victims, scenarios favoured by Defence experts gathered in research groups of the Organization 'Science and Technology' of NATO. The aim of these competitions is to promote the best advances in technology and to strengthen cooperation in research. The ELROB event has been doubled this year by the organization of the 21<sup>st</sup> International Symposium on Robotics (ISMCR’2018) under the auspices of the International Measurement Confederation IMEKO, and more particularly its technical committee (TC17) coordinator of research in robotics, chaired by Japan, of which Belgium is an active member in charge of the organization of this symposium. Here, we provide the readers around the world the opportunity to access the recent advancements in robotics, mobile robotics in particular, especially in dynamic conditions.

Bistatic Landmine and IED Detection Combining Vehicle and Drone Mounted GPR Sensors

This work proposes a novel Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system to detect landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The system, which was numerically evaluated, is composed of a transmitter placed on a vehicle and looking forward and a receiver mounted on a drone and looking downwards. This combination offers both a good penetration and a high resolution, enabling the detection of non-metallic targets and mitigating the clutter at the air–soil interface. First, a fast ray tracing simulator was developed to find proper configurations of the system. Then, these configurations were validated using a full wave simulator, considering a flat and a rough surface. All simulations were post-processed using a fast and accurate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) algorithm that takes into account the constitutive parameters of the soil. The SAR images for all configurations were compared, concluding that the proposed contribution greatly improves the target detection and the surface clutter reduction over conventional forward-looking GPR systems.

Shoot/No-Shoot Decisions in the Context of IED-Detection Training and Eyewitness Memory for Persons

Cognitive approaches to training for the detection of improvised explosive devices (IED’s) are of increasing importance. However, there is a question as to the degree to which such training might interfere with other important law enforcement (LE) functions in the field, and the degree to which such training might enhance other important cognitive/perceptual functions. A promising cognitive approach to IED training, the SMOKE system, was provided to respondents, who then responded to shoot/no-shoot decisions, important LE situations of increasing relevance. It was shown that SMOKE training did not interfere with shoot/no-shoot decisions. However, those with SMOKE training performed better than control respondents on eyewitness memory for the perpetrator of a given crime in field-valid scenes. This indicates that cognitively based training may enhance vigilance and resultant memory in field situations.

The importance of search strategy for finding targets in open terrain

A number of real-world search tasks (i.e. police search, detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)) require searchers to search exhaustively across open ground. In the present study, we simulated this problem by asking individuals (Experiments 1a and 1b) and dyads (Experiment 2) to search for coin targets pseudo-randomly located in a bounded area of open grassland terrain. In Experiment 1a, accuracy, search time, and the route used to search an area were measured. Participants tended to use an ‘S’-shaped pattern with a common width of search lane. Increased accuracy was associated with slower, but also variable, search speed, though only when participants moved along the length (as opposed to across the width) of the search area. Experiment 1b varied the number of targets available within the bounded search area and in doing so varied target prevalence and density. The results confirmed that the route taken in Experiment 1a generalizes across variations in target prevalence/density. In Experiment 2, accuracy, search time, and the search strategy used by dyads was measured. While dyads were more accurate than individuals, dyads that opted to conduct two independent searches were more accurate than those who opted to split the search space. The implications of these results for individuals and dyads when searching for targets in open space are discussed.

Energy intake and expenditure of improvised explosive device detection dogs

Improvised explosive device detection (IDD) dogs explore up to 40 km of land daily and therefore have energetic demands that may be above the National Research Council’s requirement for working dogs. This study was designed to quantify metabolic energy intake (MEI) and total energy expenditure (TEE) in a group of IDD dogs. Two groups of dogs that had undergone different training protocols (CP1, n=8 and CP2, n=11) underwent a 5-day deployment simulation that consisted of combined road clearing, orbit and point-to-point activities and lasted approximately 9 h per day. The CP1 dogs were fed according to the IDD Marine Corps Manual, while CP2 dogs were offered additional calories based on pilot study data of energy expenditure. The MEI was calculated based on feed intake rates and chemical composition of the diets. TEE was quantified using the doubly-labelled water technique in 2 of the CP1 dogs and 7 of the CP2 dogs. During the 5-day deployment simulation the MEI ranged from 189-310 kcal/bodyweight (BW)0.75 per day, with the CP2 dogs at the higher end because they were offered more feed. The TEE ranged between 375-507 kcal/BW0.75 per day, above the MEI, suggesting the dogs were in negative energy balance and metabolic reserves within the body were combusted for energy production. These findings reveal that energy requirements of deployed military working dogs are higher than previously published metabolic energy requirements of working dogs.

A simulation study of fast neutron interrogation for standoff detection of improvised explosive devices

Abstract The signature-based radiation-scanning technique utilizes radiation detector responses, called “signatures,” and compares these to “templates” in order to differentiate targets that contain certain materials, such as explosives or drugs, from those that do not. Our investigations are aimed at the detection of nitrogen-rich explosives contained in improvised explosive devices. We use the term “clutter” to refer to any non-explosive materials with which the interrogating radiation may interact between source and detector. To deal with the many target types and clutter configurations that may be encountered in the field, the use of “artificial templates” is proposed. The MCNP code was used to simulate 14.1 MeV neutron source beams incident on one type of target containing various clutter and sample materials. Signatures due to inelastic-scatter and prompt-capture gamma rays from hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen and two scattered neutron signatures were considered. Targets containing explosive materials in the presence of clutter were able to be identified from targets that contained only non-explosive (“inert”) materials. This study demonstrates that a finite number of artificial templates is sufficient for IED detection with fairly good sensitivity and specificity.

Modeling and simulation of landmine and improvised explosive device detection with multiple loops

There has been a significant amount of interest in landmine detection and, most recently, the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In this paper, current and recent papers are reviewed and explored. In addition, a model and simulation that incorporates multiple levels of detection is discussed and developed. One of the most critical points often discussed is locating and identifying concealed landmines and IEDs with a high degree of accuracy. Combining the warfighter-in-the-loop increases the accuracy of minefield detection. This concept can be applied with the addition of multiple methods, such as laser radar, metal detection, infrared imaging, ground-penetrating radar and acoustic methods. Papers on the modeling and simulation of these methods individually and fused are reviewed in this paper. A combination of methods at various levels of decision making can increase the overall accuracy of landmine detection and, more importantly, identifying false negatives (FNs). In this paper, simple modeling and simulation of landmine detection is presented by adding loops of detection systems and redundancies to increase the accuracy of detection and the effectiveness of the resources applied.

The Effect of Video Game Play on Performance in a Vigilance Task

Traditional vigilance research typically employs static stimuli presented in discrete trials within a highly structured laboratory setting with few similarities to operational environments. The current study employs a dynamic video game-based environment in which the vigilance task has crucial elements of real world detection tasks, in this case the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The novel platform for this vigilance task and its similarity to popular video games on the market motivated the current study to compare performance between video game players (VGPs), to non-video game players (NVGPs). The results indicate that, relative to NVGPs, VGPs achieved improved performance on the vigilance task, regardless of whether they received training using knowledge of results (KR).

The signature-based radiation-scanning approach to standoff detection of improvised explosive devices

The signature-based radiation-scanning technique for detection of improvised explosive devices is described. The technique seeks to detect nitrogen-rich chemical explosives present in a target. The technology compares a set of “signatures” obtained from a test target to a collection of “templates”, sets of signatures for a target that contain an explosive in a specific configuration. Interrogation of nitrogen-rich fertilizer samples, which serve as surrogates for explosives, is shown experimentally to be able to discriminate samples of 3.8L and larger.

Knowledge of Results and Diagnostic Power: Implications for Vigilance Training to Support Improvised Explosive Device Detection

Improvised explosive devises (IEDs) represent the greatest threat to personnel deployed to combat zones. Improvements in the capacity to detect and neutralize these threats are therefore a crucial concern. Although technology can provide better protection against explosions and, perhaps, improve detection, IED detection will for the foreseeable future be dependent on the capacity of mounted and dismounted soldiers to sustain their attention over long periods of time. This capacity, vigilance, has been studied extensively in both laboratory and field settings over the past sixty years. In this paper the approach for training for vigilance, knowledge of results, is reviewed and the implications for designing IED detection training are identified.

A General Framework for Numerical Simulation of Improvised Explosive Device (IED)-Detection Scenarios Using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Terahertz (THz) Spectra

We have developed a general framework for numerical simulation of various types of scenarios that can occur for the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) through the use of excitation using incident electromagnetic waves. A central component model of this framework is an S-matrix representation of a multilayered composite material system. Each layer of the system is characterized by an average thickness and an effective electric permittivity function. The outputs of this component are the reflectivity and the transmissivity as functions of frequency and angle of the incident electromagnetic wave. The input of the component is a parameterized analytic-function representation of the electric permittivity as a function of frequency, which is provided by another component model of the framework. The permittivity function is constructed by fitting response spectra calculated using density functional theory (DFT) and parameter adjustment according to any additional information that may be available, e.g., experimentally measured spectra or theory-based assumptions concerning spectral features. A prototype simulation is described that considers response characteristics for THz excitation of the high explosive β-HMX. This prototype simulation includes a description of a procedure for calculating response spectra using DFT as input to the Smatrix model. For this purpose, the DFT software NRLMOL was adopted.

Individually Adaptive Discrimination Training for Improvised Explosive Detection

Training for detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at airport checkpoints requires continued development as training technology must keep up with threat technology. In this paper, we describe the state of research on training interventions for X-ray baggage screeners. We propose that the addition of individually adaptive training elements to exposure and discrimination training paradigms will lead to higher detection accuracy and speed as well as maximize efficiency for training. Implications for researchers and training professionals are discussed.

Detection of chemical explosives using multiple photon signatures

A template-matching procedure is being investigated for rapid detection of improvised explosive devices at standoff distances. Photon-scattered and photon-induced positron annihilation radiation responses are being studied as a part of a signature-based radiation scanning approach. Back-streaming radiation responses, called signatures, are compared to templates, which are collections of the same signatures if the interrogated volume contained a significant amount of explosive. Experiments have been conducted that show that explosive surrogates (fertilizers) can be distinguished from several inert materials.

All-fiber-coupled laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy sensor for hazardous materials analysis

An all-fiber-coupled laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) sensor device is developed. A passively Q-switched Cr 4+Nd 3+:YAG microchip laser is amplified within an Yb fiber amplifier, thus generating high power laser pulses (pulse energy E p = 0.8 mJ, wavelength λ = 1064 nm, repetition rate f rep. = 5 kHz, pulse duration t p = 1.2 ns). A passive (LMA) optical fiber is spliced to the active fiber of an Yb fiber amplifier for direct guiding of high power laser pulses to the sensor tip. In front of the sensor a plasma is generated on the surface to be analyzed. The plasma emission is collected by a set of optical fibers also integrated into the sensor tip. The spectrally resolved LIBS spectra are processed by application of principal component analysis (PCA) and analyzed together with the time-resolved spectra with neural networks. Such procedure allows accurate analysis of samples by LIBS even for materials with similar atomic composition. The system has been tested successfully during field measurements at the German Armed Forces test facility at Oberjettenberg. The LIBS sensor is not restricted to anti-personnel mine detection but has also the potential to be suitable for analysis of bulk explosives and surface contaminations with explosives, e.g. for the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Ionizing photon methods for standoff bomb detection

We consider a method that uses multiple photon-scatter and photon-induced positron annihilation radiation (PIPAR) responses in a template-matching procedure to assist in rapid standoff detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The procedure is shown in a simulation study to be able to distinguish an explosive surrogate (fertilizer) from several inert materials, and thus the method may prove useful as part of a multidimensional approach in detecting hidden chemical explosives.