Miniature Electronic Sniffer for Navy Vertical Take off Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (VTUAVs)

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in warfare, reconnaissance, and surveillance activities has increased dramatically over the past decade and, for the first time, offers cost effective, intelligence-gathering capabilities without placing soldiers and sailors at unnecessary risk. Current UAV platforms have already been equipped with a limited range of sensors such as miniature audiovisual equipment and global positioning systems for battlefield surveillance activities. The next generation of battlefield UAV will require new and advanced on-board sensors for detection of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) based on specific Biological, Chemical, or Radiological materials. We propose to employ revolutionary new air sampling technology based on electrospray ionization that was developed by Nobel prize winning Chemist Dr. John Fenn, VP Research at our firm, in collaboration with our group of scientists. The ESI sampler offers unprecedented performance parameters including low power, light weight and high sampling efficiency over an enormous range of particle sizes ranging from molecules to microscale particulates. We propose to apply Dr. Fenn’s miniature vapor sampler as the key enabling technology for UAV’s equipped with detection based on Laser Induced Florescence of select trace species for the identification of explosives, chemical toxins, and other hazardous materials on board ship.BENEFITS: Portable Chem/Bio Detector for Coast Guard, DoD, Port Facilities