A High Speed Towed Magnetic Array for In-Road Detection of Improvised Explosive Devices Employing Optimized Magnetic Map Differencing

The goal of this project is to design, build, and test an active electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensor array for detecting and characterizing IEDs. At low frequencies (below a few kHz), an EMI sensor is a magnetometer that primarily responds to susceptibility targets (i.e., ferrous objects). The main difference is that, while a magnetometer uses the earth’s field as the illuminating source, an EMI sensor emits its own time-varying magnetic field and, thus, has the name electro-magnetometer. During Phase II, we will design and build a new 7-channel GEM-3 array with a 2.4-m swath; modify the driver electronics for an increased number of channels; increase the sampling rate up to 750 Hz for higher vehicle speeds; conduct indoor/outdoor tests at Geophex; develop and build, in co-operation with the ARDEC staff, sensor-mounting contraptions for a candidate vehicle; conduct demonstration surveys at ARDEC on a moving vehicle.