Compact, Digital Man-Portable Infrared (IR) Measurement Device

"This proposal presents an opportunity to develop a compact, hand-held radiometric measurement device that is capable of measuring the InfraRed (IR) Signatures of military vehicles in terms of their surface temperature and emissivity distributions, basedupon 2-color radiometric and supporting measurements. Current IR imaging devices are not capable of characterizing the intrinsic radiometric properties of vehicles that are needed to understand the root causes of IR signature degradation. IR stealth isachieved by a complex combination of measures that range from insulation to low-emissivity coatings, so the IR signature of an integrated vehicle must be measured in operational circumstances for purposes of verification and continued monitoring as thevehicle ages. If signature anomalies are detected, insight into the degradation mechanisms is required to support identification and implementation of remedial action. The proposed 2-color IR measurement device provides such insight by providing thedistributions of surface temperature and emissivity over target vehicles, thereby isolating the root causes of signature degradation or anomalies. The proposed Phase 1 effort will define the device requirements and CONOPS (Concept of Operations), as wellas the design to be prototyped in Phase II. The primary benefit of the proposed effort will be development of a hand-held device the Navy can use to quantitatively measure the IR signatures of