Detection Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Emplacement Using Infrared Image

This paper presents a method to detect an improvised explosive device (IED) by using infrared thermography (IRT) technology. The detection of IED will be done automatically and accurately even the IED detection expert is not present. Combining the advantage of IRT and image processing technique, the proposed method is very efficient and responsive to detect the existence of hidden IED. The captured images are filtered and segmented to extract the heat pattern before the decision is made. Based on the experimental result, the proposed system produced about 92 % of detection accuracy

Detecting explosive-device emplacement at multiple granularities

This paper appeared in the Proceedings of the Military Sensing Society (MSS) National Symposium, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., July 2010.We report on experiments with a nonimaging sensor network for detection of suspicious behavior related to pedestrian emplacement of IEDs. Emplacement is the time when detection is the most feasible for IEDs since it almost necessarily must involve some unusual behaviors. Sensors at particularly dangerous locations such as bridges, culverts, road narrowings, and road intersections could provide early warning of such activity. Imaging for surveillance has weaknesses in its susceptibility to occlusion, problems operating at night, sensitivity to angle of view, high processing requirements, and need to invade privacy. Our approach is to use a variety of nonimaging sensors with different modalities to track people. We particularly look for clues as to accelerations since these are often associated with suspicious behavior. Our approach involves preanalyzing terrain for the probability of emplacement of an IED, then combining this with real-time assessment of suspicious behavior obtained from probabilities of location derived from sensor data. We describe some experiments with a prototype sensor network and the promising results obtained.supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under grant 0729696 of the EXP ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Using wireless sensor networks in improvised explosive device detection

This research focused on wide-area surveillance of public environments for potential IEDs (improvised explosive devices) using wireless sensor networks. We explored magnetic and infrared sensors from Crossbow Technologies to detect simulated emplaced IEDs (emplacement is the step most susceptible to detection) in a public mall and along a typical street environment. The threat scenario was IED emplacement in a trash receptacle. A network of these sensors was built and positioned in these environments with human subjects entering (some carrying ferromagnetic materials and some not) and proceeding toward a receptacle. Results indicated that magnetic sensors could detect suspicious ferromagnetic materials, though not all simulated IEDs contained enough to trigger detection. Infrared sensors were not effective for such tasks as there is much background infrared radiation. Our network design was such that data could easily be aggregated over many sensors in larger networks. This suggests that the technology can be effective for protecting communal areas such as airports and urban areas. Other supplementary technologies such as imagery could be linked to build a more robust detection network.http://archive.org/details/usingwirelesssen109453129Singapore Army author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Operational data for the risk management of victim operated explosive devices in humanitarian mine action: a practitioner’s perspective

Since Mine Action's inception at the end of the 1980s, operators have collected limited data on the Victim Operated Explosive Devices (VOEDs) they clear. This includes not only data on the explosive ordnance itself but data on how they were found, where they were found and how they were processed and ultimately destroyed. In a context where detection of mines, boobytraps and certain Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Devices (VOIEDs) is an ongoing humanitarian and military challenge, significantly expanded operational data collection provides an achievable way to facilitate enhanced operational risk management. Risk decisions inherent in the clearance of VOEDs are better if made on the basis of extensive operational data. In the absence of a technological solution to detect and positively discriminate VOEDs from false positive indications, the collection of operational data offers the best prospect for “managing” if not “solving” the problem

The Android Smartphone as an Inexpensive Sentry Ground Sensor

Proc. SPIE Conf. on Unattended Ground, Sea, and Air Sensor Technologies and Applications XIV, Baltimore, MD, April 2012A key challenge of sentry and monitoring duties is detection of approaching people in areas of little human traffic. We are exploring smartphones as easily available, easily portable, and less expensive alternatives to traditional military sensors for this task, where the sensors are already integrated into the package. We developed an application program for the Android smartphone that uses its sensors to detect people passing nearby; it takes their pictures for subsequent transmission to a central monitoring station. We experimented with the microphone, light sensor, vibration sensor, proximity sensor, orientation sensor, and magnetic sensor of the Android. We got best results with the microphone (looking for footsteps) and light sensor (looking for abrupt changes in light), and sometimes good results with the vibration sensor. We ran a variety of tests with subjects walking at various distances from the phone under different environmental conditions to measure limits on acceptable detection. We got best results by combining average loudness over a 200 millisecond period with a brightness threshold adjusted to the background brightness, and we set our phones to trigger pictures no more than twice a second. Subjects needed to be within ten feet of the phone for reliable triggering, and some surfaces gave poorer results. We primarily tested using the Motorola Atrix 4G (Android 2.3.4) and HTC Evo 4G (Android 2.3.3) and found only a few differences in performance running the same program, which we attribute to differences in the hardware. We also tested two older Android phones that had problems with crashing when running our program. Our results provide good guidance for when and where to use this approach to inexpensive sensing

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 21.1 (2017)

Feature: Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and Pressure Plate IED\u27s Spotlight: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2- years later Field Notes Research and Developmen

The detection problem: an eight-decade challenge: the difficulty of practically detecting and discriminating mines, booby traps, and victim operated improvised explosive devices

© The AuthorsReliably detecting and discriminating mines, booby traps, and victim operated improvised explosive devices remains a stubborn problem for both humanitarian demining organizations and the military. Since mines were widely used during the Second World War, much effort has been expended on the detection problem, with limited success. The aim of being able to positively identify a device first time remains elusive since the scientific challenge of positively identifying different substances in the ground is formidable. This article critically examines the detection problem and suggests that in the continued absence of a ‘silver bullet’ technological solution, the best means currently available to manage the risk of concealed explosive devices is the systematic collection and analysis of relevant operational data from the field

Optimized routing of unmanned aerial systems for the interdiction of improvised explosive devices

As of September 2007, improvised explosive devices (IED) account for 43% of U.S. casualties in Iraq - the largest single cause of death. One reason for their high rate of effectiveness is that they are extremely difficult to detect. This research develops a tool for selecting routes that will best employ unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the purpose of detecting IED or related activity. We refer to this tool as IED Search Optimization Model (ISOM). ISOM - which uses prediction model results as an underpinning - accounts for factors such as winds, sensor sweep-width, and aircraft deconfliction. We formulate the problem as an Integer Program and optimally solve it to select the best routes. Initial evaluation of ISOM through field experiments with actual UAS suggest that the tool produces realistic routes which can be flown in the expected amount of time. Furthermore, these routes result in a 42% increase in the likelihood of achieving a detection opportunity over searching nodes in a random manner. ISOM could be implemented as a "reach-back" capability with an analyst providing daily routes for tactical operators.http://archive.org/details/optimizedrouting109453242Outstanding ThesisUS Marine Corps (USMC) author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 23.3 (2020)

Southeast Asia | Risk Management | Cluster Munitions Remnants Survey | IMAS Training in Vietnam | Mine Risk Education | Victim Assistance | Underwater Clearance | Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality in HMA | HMA in the Gray Zone | IED Clearance Capacity in Afghanista