Actively Excited Bio-Taggant Sensor

In the new global theater of war, there is a critical and highly urgent need to reliably detect, identify, and track high priority targets such as those related to terrorist networks and Chemical/Biological/Radiological/Nuclear/Explosive (CBRNE) threats. The specialized bio-taggants being developed by the Air Force could provide a transformational technology to help detect and covertly track such important assets. In the proposed effort TIAX will design and develop sensor systems for detecting, identifying and tracking objects coated with these bio-taggants via airborne operations from long operating ranges. TIAX will use an innovative technical approach to design sensor systems tailored for the specific bio-taggants and operational scenarios of interest to the Air Force. We will carry out this effort in close conjunction with the bio-taggant development and signature characterization efforts of the Air Force. Our approach will significantly accelerate the development process, while also reducing the development costs dramatically. This technology can serve a variety of unmet Tagging, Tracking and Locating (TTL) needs, and has a vast number of potential applications in US military, homeland security, and civilian/commercial markets.