SBIR/STTR Phase II: A High Frequency Beam Steered Electromagnetic Impulse Radar to Locate Human Targets Through Opaque Media

This SBIR Phase II project will develop a through material imaging system that will locate human targets through opaque media. The technology will also provide wide area subsurface sensing for ground probing applications. The phase I results demonstrated that the system has the capability of detecting human targets on the opposite of building walls and through walls of granite over 10m thick. The thrust of the phase II research lies in software development to classify targets in the downrange profile, track targets, and count targets; and hardware development to eliminate the need for an external off the shelf receiver. The latter effort will also require software development to process data for the classification algorithms. The unique innovation of this project is that it can conduct full area investigations and locate stationary targets from a fixed location. There are two primary applications for this technology, situational awareness and subsurface investigation. The former, which is the most attractive for early market entry, comprises homeland security, police/fire/search and rescue, and military actions where the location of human subjects on the opposite side of walls, vegetation, snow, fire, or other opaque media is sought. The latter includes geophysical exploration, ore body investigation, utility detection and location, road-bed and bridge subsurface scans for cracks and voids, and unattended ground sensing from a fixed point to assess subsurface changes that can be used to predict earth or structural failure.