Miniature Fluorescent Sensor for Detecting CW and BW Agents

Nomadics has a technology under development for chemical warfare (CW) agent detection that, when combined with light emitting diodes (LEDs) being developed under DARPA's SUVOS program, should be able to meet military and homeland defense needs. Further, this technology can be integrated with BW detection systems from the SUVOS program to make an integrated CW/BW sensor. This system should provide sufficient sensitivity to detect threats at concentrations that pose a health risk. The system offers selectivity to provide high confidence detection with low false alarm rates. Rapid response to provide early warning of a release and to quickly map out a release will be possible. These technologies will be available in a small size and low power package so they can be easily deployed by a variety of mechanisms including autonomous vehicles and hand-carried. The design is simple and easy to use so that they can be operated autonomously and with minimal operator training. Yet the system will be rugged and robust for field deployment. All of this will be built around commercial components and mature technologies to ensure low cost. The proposed work will build on Nomadics prototype handheld CW technology, further ensuring the success of the proposed work.