Detection of Liquid Contaminants on Surfaces Using Hyperspectral Imaging

Quick detection of Chemical/Biological (CB) agents in the field can provide critical reconnaissance and contamination avoidance. CB agents pose a serious threat to both civilian and military sectors, and present techniques rely on dangerous collection methods, active measurement through external infrared (IR) sources, and/or are time-consuming. EPIR proposes to provide critically needed improvements through the development of a passive standoff hyperspectral long wavelength infrared (LWIR) focal plane array (FPA) with a polarimetric capability that will exploit cold sky reflectance, and spectroscopy techniques to identify CB agents quickly, accurately, and on the move. Phase I will focus on spectral measurements of a chemical stimulant, and system modeling and design based upon the measurements. Milestones for Phase I include the measurement of the hyper-spectral datacube for a stimulant, and system specifications given in terms of the possible contaminants. Phase II will focus on prototype system design, construction and characterization. Phase III will focus on field-deployable system manufacturing and packaging.