Hand-Held UXO Discriminator
Abstract
In 2003, the Defense Science Board observed: "The... problem is that instruments that can detect the buried UXOs also detect numerous scrap metal objects and other artifacts, which leads to an enormous amount of expensive digging. Typically 100 holes may be dug before a real UXO is unearthed! The Task Force assessment is that much of this wasteful digging can be eliminated by the use of more advanced technology instruments that exploit modern digital processing and advanced multi-mode sensors to achieve an improved level of discrimination of scrap from UXOs." In keeping with these remarks and with prior funding (UX-1225, MM-0437, and MM-0838), the LBNL group has successfully designed and built the cart-mounted Berkeley UXO Discriminator (BUD) and demonstrated its performance at various test sites (cf. Gasperikova et al., 2007, 2008, and 2009).Because hand-held systems have the advantage of being lightweight, compact, portable, and deployable under most site conditions, they are particularly useful in areas of dense vegetation or challenging terrain. In heavily wooded areas or areas with steep or uneven terrain, hand-held sensors may be the only suitable device for UXO detection and discrimination because it can be carried through spaces that the operator could walk through or at least approach. Furthermore, it is desirable to find and characterize a metallic object without the need to accurately locate the sensors at multiple positions around the target. The ideal system would thus locate and characterize the target from a single position of the sensor and indicate to the operator where to flag the target for subsequent study.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA539243
Entities
People
- Erika Gasperikova
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley