Passive, Very Low Cost, Light Weight Remote Detector of Chemicals for Expendable Unmanned Air Vehicles

"A new compact, lightweight, low-cost, modular, infrared remote sensor of chemical weapon agents will be developed for deployment on expandable UAVs. The sensor will depend on new differential absorption radiometer (DAR) technology that will enabledetection of multiple species, while nearly perfectly correcting for interferences by atmospheric gases (such as water vapor) and various sources of clutter, including aerosol scattering and variations in source emissivity. A hard-wired signal processingcircuitry will provide these corrections by subtraction and normalization at exceptionally low uncertainty of the signals detected by detector pairs. The sensor is projected to achieve sensitivities matching or exceeding existing passive sensors whileusing low-energy, low cost, uncooled detectors. The simple design and user-friendly output will allow easy telemetry (low data rate requirements). These features will also allow implementation of the sensor for use by untrained personnel in domestic andmilitary applications. When using natural IR emission, the detector will lend itself for packaging as a remote passive sensor or, when combined with an artificial source, as an in-situ sensor (e.g., for protection of public buildings). Unique technologylicensed exclusively to Avir will permit the extension of the sensor for imaging and for downwind hazard assessment. The sensor will be first designed for deployment on expandable UAVs. Howeve