Laser Standoff Detection of Buried Hazards Using Acoustic/Seismic Stimuli
Abstract
U.S. Marine expeditionary forces engage in a wide spectrum of warfare, including asymmetric and irregular warfare and distributed operations. These operations face dangers and delays from mines and IEDs buried and hidden on and off route. Rapid, standoff, wide-area mine and IED detection capability is required to detect these explosive hazards, so that they can be avoided or cleared to allow safe passage of personnel, equipment, and supplies, and maintain operational tempo. Acoustic/seismic technology refers to methods that interrogate the soil using mechanical waves. When the source of ground excitation is airborne sound, the method is referred to as acoustic. When the ground vibration is produced by direct impact with the ground, the method is referred to as seismic. Acoustic technology developed at the National Center for Physical Acoustics has been proven as a reliable method, with a high probability of detection and low false alarm rate. Keys to successful implementation of either acoustic or seismic technology include rapidscanning, standoff methods for ground vibration measurement over wide areas, and the adaptation of this technology for operation from a manned or unmanned ground vehicle. The University of Mississippi, National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA) under grants #N000141310868 and N000141512660 from Office of Naval Research (ONR) and under contract with NSWC PCD #N00178-04-D-4143-HR20 (TI008) developed a novel Laser Multi-Beam Differential Interferometric Sensor (LAMBDIS) for stand-off measurement of vibration fields. Field tests demonstrated the ability of LAMBDIS of vibration mapping of the ground from a moving vehicle and detection of buried objects by using either acoustic or seismic excitation. The objective of the proposed effort is to advance acoustic/seismic standoff detection of buried objects through the development of compact laser multi-point sensors for fast high spatial resolution vibration imaging of the ground from a moving vehicle, and investigation of excitation sources, targets response, and the ground properties. The proposed project will be accomplished by completing the tasks for development of a compact linear array and 2D array LAMBDIS, and methods for fast vibration imaging, investigation of seismic excitation sources, investigation of target response and soil physics and environmental constraints on acoustic/seismic detection, and field experiments and tests.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 26, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812489
Entities
People
- Craig J. Hickey
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Mississippi