Detector and Locator of Booby Trap Optical Triggers

To address the Army need in optical countermeasures for detecting, locating, and identifying infrared COTS and other electro-optical devices used as optical triggering mechanisms for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), optical trip wires, and booby traps, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Detector and Locator of Booby Trap Optical Triggers (DALBOT). The proposed device is based on a high-sensitivity optical detector subsystem that detects and decodes triggering IR radiation signals, and a stabilized optical locator subsystem with eye-safe laser, scanning, and retro-reflection detection. The innovations in DALBOT design allows detection and localization of those COTS IR triggers for mitigation of the threat of the IED triggers at distances of 10-100 m with accuracy better than 15 cm. In Phase I, POC will analyze optical beam characteristics of the optical threat (emitting power, beam divergence/field of view, and pulse parameters of COTS devices) and demonstrate the feasibility of DALBOT by simulation of the entire system design along with experimental testing of optical receiver and laser locator subsystems. In Phase II, POC plans to develop and build a complete prototype of DALBOT detector of COTS IED triggers.