Detection, Inspection, and Enforcement Technologies

Technical Contacts:

Nicholas Paulter
Donald Larson
John Jendzurski

Overview

As America's homeland security efforts to detect, locate, and interdict threats intensify, the work of OLES' Detection, Inspection and Enforcement Technologies (DIET) program becomes increasingly more important. DIET is responsible for a technologically broad portfolio. The program areas of DIET presently are:

• Concealed Weapon and Contraband Detection, Locating, and Imaging
  • The DIET activities relative to concealed weapon detection are aimed at developing reference systems for establishing minimum performance requirements and a better understanding of the associated phenomenology.
• Imaging Metrology
  • This is a broad program area addressing the ability of imaging systems to provide the quality of images required by law enforcement, emergency response, and criminal justice personnel for evidentiary and forensic purposes and to make tactical decisions. The imaging technologies for which there is activity currently include x-ray systems for personnel screening and imaging of leave-behind packages, infrared cameras used in firefighting applications, visible light digital video systems used in surveillance, and microwave systems for concealed object imaging.
• Biometric Recognition
  • The applications for the biometric technologies considered here are those used to permit access to secure facilities and information. Presently, DIET is active in two technologies, fingerprint and facial recognition.
• Traffic Enforcement Technologies
  • DIET supports the International Association of Chiefs of Police in the development of appropriate minimum performance requirements and the associated test methods for the ubiquitous traffic radar and lidar guns and, more recently, unattended traffic enforcement devices (red light camera, photo-radar, photo-lidar).
• Through-Barrier Detecting, Locating, Tracking, and Imaging
  • This is another broad application area, ranging from providing the ability to see through packaging materials to tracking individuals from a distance of greater than 1 km. DIET is developing reference systems to advance through barrier metrology.
• Weapon Performance Characterization
  • Characterization of weapon output is essential to understand not only how the weapon performs but also to understand the effects of the weapon on other objects and on humans. Presently, DIET is finalizing the analysis of a reference ballistic chronograph.

Accomplishments

• Metal detector testing
  • Modifications to the robotic measurement system and analysis software were completed. This measurement system is now available for use by other federal agencies.
  • The test methods and performance limits given in the proposed revision to the NIJ hand-held metal detector (HHMD) standard, NIJ Std-0602.03, were validated.
  • Evaluation of the test methods and performance limits given in the NIJ walk-through metal detector standard, NIJ Std-0601.02, were started.
  • The development of materials to emulate the electromagnetic properties of the human body over the frequency range of 100 Hz to 4 MHz was completed and a human phantom is being developed.
  • The characterization of electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability of the metals used in construction of the metal detector test object was completed.
  • Document describing metal detector test objects was completed.
  • Compliance test report form for handheld metal detectors was drafted.
• Millimeter-wave concealed weapon detection systems
  • Fabrication of the antenna-coupled microbolometer (ACMB) arrays for use in the close-proximity CWD imaging system was successfully outsourced to commercial foundry. This is a major step because now the arrays can be fabricated at an implied cost of less $15/channel (unpackaged) compared to almost $1000 for the competitive detector technology, indium phosphide detectors and low-noise amplifiers.
  • The spectral response of the ACMB detectors was measured to be between 0.1 THz and 1.5 THz.
  • ACMB detector performance was verified in a refrigerated (cryogen-free) platform.
  • The performance of the ACMB array modules, each consisting of eight sensing elements, was verified. These modules will be assembled to provide the array size and arrangement appropriate for given CWD applications.
  • For the long stand-off CWD system using transition-edge sensors (TESs), the optics design was completed and the optical path has been fully simulated.
  • Fabrication and assembly of the room-temperature electronics for the TES array readout was started.
• Radio frequency identification of dangerous liquids
  • Developed and extended the shielded-open-circuit holder method to use 7 mm diameter coaxial transmission lines, and have investigated the use of 3.5 mm coaxial line, to extend our liquid measurement capability. This work allows us to obtain measurements on many liquids from 1 MHz to 10 GHz. This work is being summarized in a paper that will be submitted to an IEEE journal.
  • A generalized polarization model that yields material relaxation times from dielectric measurements was developed from basic statistical mechanics. This model helps describe the unique permittivity signatures of materials in the radio-frequency and microwave bands. This work has been summarized in a publication submitted to Physical Review.
• Imaging metrology activities
  • The NIJ portable X-ray standard, NIJ Std-0603, was revised, but this revision did not include "image quality".
  • An ad hoc group of industry, user, and government representatives was assembled to address imaging quality requirements of NIJ Std-0603.
  • A test bed for the evaluation of portable X-ray systems was developed.
  • Determined that a digital recording of the composite video (CV) output of firefighter thermal imagers is not a good indicator of the performance of the entire imaging system, which includes the display device. The transfer function between the CV and the image displayed by the video display may not be flat, and varies from imager to imager
  • Completed the development of a prototype visible-light/near-IR complex scene projector for characterization of the performance of digital video systems.
  • Completed the development of mid-IR complex scene projector that will be use to characterize the performance of firefighter and security/surveillance IR imaging systems.
• Biometric recognition
  • The Face Recognition Grand Challenge, a technology development project facilitated by NIST. Preliminary results show an order of magnitude improvement over Face Recognition Vendors Test (FRVT) 2002 results.
  • Supplemental report on FRVT 2002, released January 2004.
  • A new color, high resolution, version of the Face Recognition Technology (FERET) face database (superseding the grayscale version was released. http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/humanid/feret/
• Traffic enforcement technologies
  • Initiated and led the review of IACP's surveillance testing process.
  • Drafted suggested tests for red light camera systems minimum performance requirements.
• Through-barrier technologies
  • The basic metrology underlying the measurement of materials for security applications and a list of the dielectric parameters of a large number of commonly-used materials was written and published, Technical Note 1536, "Measuring the permittivity and permeability of lossy materials: Solids, liquids, metals, building materials, and negative index materials," Feb. 2005.
• Weapon performance characterization
  • Completed the development of the ballistic chronograph. Testing shows that the speed measurement uncertainty is less than 0.1 %. Manufacturers of commercial ballistic chronographs claim an accuracy of 1 %.