Adaptive Analysis for Chemical Recognition and Identification Using Remote Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy

Chemical weapons are inexpensive, accessible, and they can have devastating, long lasting effects on urban centers. Currently, no single chemical detection system can support the intelligence community in detecting and identifying chemical agents wherethey are manufactured and support first responder units in surveying the site of a chemical agent release. In Phase I, EOIR Technologies investigated and successfully demonstrated the feasibility of new algorithms and techniques for the research, designand development of an Automated, Adaptive Chemical Exploitation System (AACES) to support the passive detection and identification of chemical effluents. The proposed work in Phase II will improve these algorithms and result in a single system that willsupport a variety of missions. This system will increase the Probability of Detection and Probability of Identification of chemical agents by an estimated 50% and 75% respectively. Equally important, the AACES system will extend detection range performanceor standoff distance by approximately a factor of two while simultaneously decreasing detection time by the same amount. To achieve these dramatic increases in performance, EOIR will develop several innovative signal to background discrimination techniquesand adaptive exploitation algorithms. These new techniques will be integrated into a system designed to support wide-area search.The remote standoff chemical detection system EOIR is proposing has an advantage over the current systems in that it can operate autonomously and constantly to sweep a wide-area, establish a suitable background, and detect any change in the environment.The key competitive advantage of this sensor is its ability to detect and identify chemicals remotely and independently. The sensor does not need to be manned at all times. It can be placed in an area to