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Detection, Inspection, and Enforcement Technologies
Technical Contacts:
Nicholas Paulter
Donald Larson
John Jendzurski
Overview
As America's homeland security efforts to detect, locate, and interdict threats intensify,
the work of OLES' Detection, Inspection and Enforcement Technologies (DIET) program becomes
increasingly more important. DIET is responsible for a technologically broad portfolio.
The program areas of DIET presently are:
- Concealed Weapon and Contraband Detection, Locating, and Imaging
- The DIET activities relative to concealed weapon detection are aimed at developing
reference systems for establishing minimum performance requirements and a better
understanding of the associated phenomenology.
- Imaging Metrology
- This is a broad program area addressing the ability of imaging systems to provide
the quality of images required by law enforcement, emergency response, and criminal
justice personnel for evidentiary and forensic purposes and to make tactical decisions.
The imaging technologies for which there is activity currently include x-ray systems
for personnel screening and imaging of leave-behind packages, infrared cameras used
in firefighting applications, visible light digital video systems used in surveillance,
and microwave systems for concealed object imaging.
- Biometric Recognition
- The applications for the biometric technologies considered here are those used
to permit access to secure facilities and information. Presently, DIET is active
in two technologies, fingerprint and facial recognition.
- Traffic Enforcement Technologies
- DIET supports the International Association of Chiefs of Police in the development
of appropriate minimum performance requirements and the associated test methods for
the ubiquitous traffic radar and lidar guns and, more recently, unattended traffic
enforcement devices (red light camera, photo-radar, photo-lidar).
- Through-Barrier Detecting, Locating, Tracking, and Imaging
- This is another broad application area, ranging from providing the ability to
see through packaging materials to tracking individuals from a distance of greater
than 1 km. DIET is developing reference systems to advance through barrier metrology.
- Weapon Performance Characterization
- Characterization of weapon output is essential to understand not only how the
weapon performs but also to understand the effects of the weapon on other objects
and on humans. Presently, DIET is finalizing the analysis of a reference ballistic
chronograph.
Accomplishments
- Metal detector testing
- Modifications to the robotic measurement system and analysis software were completed.
This measurement system is now available for use by other federal agencies.
- The test methods and performance limits given in the proposed revision to the
NIJ hand-held metal detector (HHMD) standard, NIJ Std-0602.03, were validated.
- Evaluation of the test methods and performance limits given in the NIJ walk-through
metal detector standard, NIJ Std-0601.02, were started.
- The development of materials to emulate the electromagnetic properties of the
human body over the frequency range of 100 Hz to 4 MHz was completed and a human
phantom is being developed.
- The characterization of electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability of
the metals used in construction of the metal detector test object was completed.
- Document describing metal detector test objects was completed.
- Compliance test report form for handheld metal detectors was drafted.
- Millimeter-wave concealed weapon detection systems
- Fabrication of the antenna-coupled microbolometer (ACMB) arrays for use in the
close-proximity CWD imaging system was successfully outsourced to commercial foundry.
This is a major step because now the arrays can be fabricated at an implied cost of
less $15/channel (unpackaged) compared to almost $1000 for the competitive detector
technology, indium phosphide detectors and low-noise amplifiers.
- The spectral response of the ACMB detectors was measured to be between 0.1 THz
and 1.5 THz.
- ACMB detector performance was verified in a refrigerated (cryogen-free) platform.
- The performance of the ACMB array modules, each consisting of eight sensing elements,
was verified. These modules will be assembled to provide the array size and arrangement
appropriate for given CWD applications.
- For the long stand-off CWD system using transition-edge sensors (TESs), the optics
design was completed and the optical path has been fully simulated.
- Fabrication and assembly of the room-temperature electronics for the TES array
readout was started.
- Radio frequency identification of dangerous liquids
- Developed and extended the shielded-open-circuit holder method to use 7 mm diameter
coaxial transmission lines, and have investigated the use of 3.5 mm coaxial line,
to extend our liquid measurement capability. This work allows us to obtain measurements
on many liquids from 1 MHz to 10 GHz. This work is being summarized in a paper that
will be submitted to an IEEE journal.
- A generalized polarization model that yields material relaxation times from
dielectric measurements was developed from basic statistical mechanics. This model
helps describe the unique permittivity signatures of materials in the radio-frequency
and microwave bands. This work has been summarized in a publication submitted to
Physical Review.
- Imaging metrology activities
- The NIJ portable X-ray standard, NIJ Std-0603, was revised, but this revision
did not include "image quality".
- An ad hoc group of industry, user, and government representatives was assembled
to address imaging quality requirements of NIJ Std-0603.
- A test bed for the evaluation of portable X-ray systems was developed.
- Determined that a digital recording of the composite video (CV) output of firefighter
thermal imagers is not a good indicator of the performance of the entire imaging system,
which includes the display device. The transfer function between the CV and the image
displayed by the video display may not be flat, and varies from imager to imager
- Completed the development of a prototype visible-light/near-IR complex scene projector
for characterization of the performance of digital video systems.
- Completed the development of mid-IR complex scene projector that will be use to
characterize the performance of firefighter and security/surveillance IR imaging systems.
- Biometric recognition
- The Face Recognition Grand Challenge, a technology development project facilitated
by NIST. Preliminary results show an order of magnitude improvement over Face Recognition
Vendors Test (FRVT) 2002 results.
- Supplemental report on FRVT 2002, released January 2004.
- A new color, high resolution, version of the Face Recognition Technology (FERET)
face database (superseding the grayscale version was released.
http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/humanid/feret/
- Traffic enforcement technologies
- Initiated and led the review of IACP's surveillance testing process.
- Drafted suggested tests for red light camera systems minimum performance requirements.
- Through-barrier technologies
- The basic metrology underlying the measurement of materials for security applications
and a list of the dielectric parameters of a large number of commonly-used materials
was written and published, Technical Note 1536, "Measuring the permittivity and
permeability of lossy materials: Solids, liquids, metals, building materials, and
negative index materials," Feb. 2005.
- Weapon performance characterization
- Completed the development of the ballistic chronograph. Testing shows that
the speed measurement uncertainty is less than 0.1 %. Manufacturers of commercial
ballistic chronographs claim an accuracy of 1 %.
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