HANDHELD MINE DETECTOR IMAGER/DISCRIMINATOR

THIS PROPOSAL PRESENTS AN APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT OF A PROOF OF CONCEPT MODEL FOR A HANDHELD MINE DETECTOR IMAGER/DISCRIMINATION SYSTEM. THE DESIGN WILL PROVIDE FOR DETECTION OF BOTH METALLIC AND NONMETALLIC BURIED LAND MINES UNDER ALL WEATHER/VISIBILITY CONDITIONS. IT WILL ALLOW IMPROVED IDENTIFICATION/FALSE TARGET DISCRIMINATION THROUGH USE OF IMAGING AND IMAGE ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES. THE DESIGN WILL BE AMENABLE TO INCORPORATION IN A MAN PORTABLE HANDHELD SERVICE. A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH WILL BE USED TO EVALUATE CURRENT AND PROJECTED MINE DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES ON THE BASIS OF THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION OF A HANDHELD DETECTION SYSTEM. VARIOUS TYPES OF DISPLAY SYSTEMS AVAILABLE AND IMAGING TECHNIQUES WILL BE EVALUATED FOR THEIR CAPABILITY TO ACCOMMODATE THE DETECTION SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR ABILITY TO MEET THE MINIMUM WEIGHT, SIZE, AND POWER CONSUMPTION REQUIREMENTS OF A MAN PORTABLE SYSTEM. THE EFFORT WILL CONSIST OF EVALUATING AND COMPARING MINE DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES BASED ON AVAILABLE DOCUMENTATION, DEVELOPING A FEASIBILITY TEST MODEL TO QUANTIFY AND COMPARE PERFORMANCE, DEVELOPING A BASIC SYSTEM DESIGN FOR THE SELECTED TECHNOLOGY, AND PREPARING A PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROOF OF CONCEPT MODEL.