Wearable Radio Frequency Weapon Exposure Detector

RF weapons are an emerging battlefield threat. These directed energy weapons are being demonstrated at higher power levels and in smaller, less costly, and more mobile platforms. However, while the defense industry is just now beginning to understand the effects of high-levels of RF energy on electronic systems, through rigorous test and evaluation of instrumented targets and systems, there is significantly less data and understanding of the effects on biological systems. As has been done in the case of instrumented targets to evaluate the effects of RF on electronics, there must be a system and methodology for instrumenting personnel to capture the levels of RF energy received and correlate that to injury, changes in perception, and other issues that would represent threats to the warfighter. In this proposed Phase I SBIR, EngeniusMicro will evaluate the development of a low cost, low weight, small size wearable radio frequency (RF) weapon exposure dosimeter based on recent developments in broadband RF power detectors. During the Phase I, EngeniusMicro will evaluate the design space for the dosimeter, design a suitable dosimeter, and perform proof-of-principle demonstrations of critical technologies. The Phase II of the effort will then prototype and test the dosimeter.