Optical Technologies for the Identification of Explosives

01.09.2008 - 31.08.2012

Research funding project

Terrorism is a real and growing threat to Europe and the world and more than 60% of the terrorist attacks are carried out by the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). Security forces demand new tools to fight against this threat and the industry is making a big effort in the last years to provide such tools. New products to detect and identify concealed explosives are reaching the market but up to the moment they do not meet the operational capabilities demanded by the end users. Probably, the most demanded by the end users is the capability for standoff detection and identification of explosives, in order to be able to anticipate a threat from a safe distance and to avoid entering into the lethality area of an IED. Standoff detection capability is also very demanded for intelligence operations to identify materials, people or places involved in the preparation and transportation of explosives. In order to meet the end user¿s needs, OPTIX will develop a transportable system for the standoff detection and identification of explosives in real scenarios at distances of around 20 m (sensor to target), using alternative or simultaneous analysis of three different complementary optical technologies (LIBS, RAMAN, IR) and with the following characteristics: ¿ Standoff distance of at least 20 m. ¿ Detection of explosives in bulk, trace amounts and even liquids in certain conditions. ¿ Very fast detection and identification of explosives, less than 60 secs. ¿ Very high specificity for the identification of explosives, 95%. ¿ Large operational availability of the system: indoor/outdoor, daylight, portability, remote operations. ¿ Fully automated decision system (no operator dependence). Laser based technologies provide unique features and capabilities over other potential explosives standoff detection technologies. In order to be successful, end user¿s involvement in OPTIX is essential in the system specifications and validation, and in this sense, OPTIX consortium has put a special effort in including end users in those parts of the project where their contribution is relevant.

People

Project leader

Bernhard Lendl (E164)

Project personnel

Alison Hobro (E164)
Bernhard Zachhuber (E164)

Institute

E164 - Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics

Grant funds

European Commission (EU) FP7 I.10 COOPERATION Security 7.Rahmenprogramm für Forschung European Commission - Framework Programme European Commission Call identifier FP7-SEC-2007-1 Application number 218037

Research focus

Sensor Systems: 50%
Materials Characterization: 50%

Keywords

German	English
Messung aus der Ferne	Standoff detection
Raman Spektroskopie	raman spectroscopy
Explosivstoffe	Explosives

Publications

Publications