Chemical and Biological Sensor Standards Study
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DoD) has an urgent need for the development of sensors for early warning and protection of military forces against potential chemical and biological (C/B) attacks. Unfortunately, the current standards and protocols used to evaluate C/B sensors are not adequate; and, this inadequacy hampers the development of new sensors as well as the proper evaluation of current sensors. In order to address these shortcomings, there is a need for a set of sensor metrics and measurement protocols by which the efficacy of C/B sensors can be properly judged. Following a simplified vulnerability and threat analysis, the Study found that there is an extremely large uncertainty in the required sensitivity for C/B sensors. This uncertainty in the required detection sensitivity strongly suggests that there is not a single ideal sensor sensitivity for C/B agent detection and that, depending on the acceptable false positive rates and other sensor attributes, different sensors with widely different sensitivity capabilities may have useful roles in the defense against C/B agents. In addition to identifying C/B sensor metrics and measurement protocols, the Study Panel produced ve key findings, which are: 1. Sensor testing and characterization is inadequate. 2. Potential threats span a very wide dynamic range (> 10 (exp 5) in concentration). 3. ROC curves are essential for sensor development, testing and evaluation. 4. Sensors should allow for multiple operating modes. 5. Sensor requirements are not well defined. The report details these key findings and makes subsequent recommendations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA458370
Entities
People
- John Carrano
Organizations
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency