Detection of Vehicle Type and Buried IED's Through Remote Sensing

Infrared (IR) imagery has considerable potential for identification of buried improvised explosive devices and tracks from military vehicles. A strong correlation exists between the IR spectra of soil and vegetation, their physical state, and how they are disturbed. Wavelength regions of interest include the long-wave (8-14 micrometer), mid-wave (3-8 micrometer) and short-wave (2-3 micrometer). Spectral Sciences, Inc. (SSI) proposes an R&D program to quantify the at-sensor spectral/spatial signatures of disturbed earth under varying environmental conditions, starting with a modeling effort in Phase I and leading to the assembly of a multispectral imaging system for performing further measurements in Phase II. To determine the feasibility of proposed algorithms and system concepts, we will build a software tool, Testbed for Remote-sensing Exploitation and Analysis of Disturbed Soils, which starts from measured surface properties and calculates at-sensor signal levels from first principles radiative transport physics. Using these data, algorithms will be developed to optimally enhance the contrast of the disturbance signature relative to background clutter due to temperature or emissivity differences. The Phase I results will guide the conceptual design for a Phase II sensor (e.g., a version of SSI's Adaptive Spectrometer).