1336 results about "Explosive material" patented technology

The system and method for standoff detection of human carried explosives (HCE) is a portable system that automatically detects HCE up to a range of 200 meters and within seconds alerts an operator to HCE threats. The system has radar only, or both radar and video sensors, a multi-sensor processor, an operator console, handheld displays, and a wideband wireless communications link. The processor receives radar and video feeds and automatically tracks and detects all humans in the field of view. Track data continuously cues the narrow beam radar to a subject of interest, the radar repeatedly interrogating cued objects, producing a multi-polarity radar range profile for each interrogation event. Range profiles and associated features are automatically fused over time until sufficient evidence is accrued to support a threat / non-threat declaration hypothesis. Once a determination is made, the system alerts operators through a handheld display and mitigates the threat if desired.

A baggage scanning system and method employ combined angular and energy dispersive x-ray scanning to detect the presence of a contraband substance within an interrogation volume of a baggage item. The interrogation volume is illuminated with penetrating, polychromatic x-rays in a primary fan beam from a source such as a tungsten-anode x-ray tube. An energy-dependent absorption correction is determined from measurement of the attenuation of the fan beam at a plurality of different energies. Radiation coherently scattered by substances in the interrogation volume is detected by an energy-resolved x-ray detector operated at a plurality of scattering angles to form a plurality of scattering spectra. Each scattering spectrum is corrected for energy-dependent absorption and the corrected spectra are combined to produce a scattering pattern. The experimental scattering pattern is compared with reference patterns that uniquely characterize known contraband substances. The system and method can locate and identify a wide variety of contraband substances in an accurate, reliable manner. The system provides for automated screening, with the result that vagaries of human performance are virtually eliminated. False alarms and the need for hand inspection are reduced and detection efficacy is increased.

Methods and apparatus for early detection and identification of a threat such as individuals carrying hidden explosive materials, land mines on roads, etc. are disclosed. One method comprises illuminating a target with radiation at a first polarization, collecting first radiation reflected from the target which has the same polarization as the first polarization, illuminating a target with radiation at a second polarization, and collecting second radiation reflected from the target which has the same polarization as the second polarization. A threat determination is then made based on the difference between the energy values of the first and second collected radiations. In other embodiments, the difference between energy values is used in conjunction with an evaluation of the returned energy in comparison with returned energy from other targets in order to additionally assess whether the primary target is a threat.

Homeland Intelligence Systems Technology “H-LIST” and battlefield apparatus comprises nano-sensors embedded in a silicon substrate and etched / fused in a micro-fibered material. The silicon substrate is alloyed with miniaturized steel responsive to weapons, preventing bullet penetration and providing effective detection platform on an outfit. The outfit is operable for monitoring suspicious terrorist activities and for tracking biological and chemical gases, and explosives, including weapons of mass destruction and physiological conditions of personnel. Disclosed embodiments provide wearable detection apparatus comprising plurality sensors on an outfit configured to be worn by military personnel, an officer, a security officer, a bus driver, hostesses, Doctors, civil establishment hospital patients and the like, for protection and for sensing deadly gases, explosives, and physiological conditions in a defined area. A receptor is operatively configured and worn proximate to the outfit responsive to detection signals. The receptor is communicatively connected to the sensors and operable for receiving / analyzing detection signal communications wirelessly indicative of the presence of a sensed agent, whereby detected signals are transported wirelessly to a central security monitoring station, providing communications to first responders. The communications could be reachable to backup security personnel or agents, prompting them to respond to the vicinity of the detection. The sensors are multifunctional and coded to recognize wavelike pattern of gases and explosives traveling through the wave. Embodiments provide the outfit and the receptor being operable to process the portion of the detection signal to determine the detection type and / or whether there is a concealed object by conducting a test in which a first characteristic of a first dielectric constant associated with a person is determined, and a second characteristic of a second dielectric constant associated with the concealed object and or weapons of mass destruction is determined to expedite data transmission and communication to first responders.

The present invention relates to one kind of small explosive eliminating and hazardous article eliminating robot, which includes one running part, one manipulator part, one body part, one cradle part and one control part. The equipment compartment and battery compartment of the body part and the cradle part are set on the back chassis, the running part including one right part and one left part is connected symmetrically on two sides of the front chassis and the back chassis in the body part and has two tail supports, and the manipulator part set on the front chassis of the body part has multiple freedoms for sufficient grasping capacity and high capacity of passing through narrow space. The small explosive eliminating and hazardous article eliminating robot has functions similar to that of large robot, great topographic adaptability and high obstacle surmounting capacity, and may be applied directly for eliminating explosive and hazardous article.

A baggage scanning system and method employ combined angular and energy dispersive x-ray scanning to detect the presence of a contraband substance within an interrogation volume of a baggage item. The interrogation volume is illuminated with penetrating, polychromatic x-rays in a primary fan beam from a source such as a tungsten-anode x-ray tube. An energy-dependent absorption correction is determined from measurement of the attenuation of the fan beam at a plurality of different energies. Radiation coherently scattered by substances in the interrogation volume is detected by an energy-resolved x-ray detector operated at a plurality of scattering angles to form a plurality of scattering spectra. Each scattering spectrum is corrected for energy-dependent absorption and the corrected spectra are combined to produce a scattering pattern. The experimental scattering pattern is compared with reference patterns that uniquely characterize known contraband substances. The system and method can locate and identify a wide variety of contraband substances in an accurate, reliable manner. The system provides for automated screening, with the result that vagaries of human performance are virtually eliminated. False alarms and the need for hand inspection are reduced and detection efficacy is increased.

The vehicle security inspection system may include multiple automated detection devices for detecting explosives, weapons, contraband, etc. which may be contained on or within a motor vehicle. The system includes a tunnel or enclosure with a moving conveyor therein. A motor vehicle is driven into the entrance to the enclosure, and conveyed past the series of sensors by the conveyor belt. One or more surveillance cameras may be installed in the enclosure, as well. The various sensors incorporated therein check the vehicle for illegal articles, and the vehicle is released from the enclosure. A control gate may be provided as a door at the exit of the enclosure, and / or as a gate guiding vehicles along their intended route or to a detention area, as appropriate. The system may be provided either as a portable device or as a permanent installation, and / or may be configured as a multiple lane inspection system.

A net is made from an explosive resistant material such as KEVLAR and is thrown over an explosive-laden device such that the net helps contain the blast force of the explosive-laden device. The net also has a nozzle that is fluid connected to a fire suppressant agent as well as a high density foam, each of which are discharged through the nozzle once the net is thrown over the explosive-laden device, the fire suppressant agent and the high density foam each helping to minimize the blast force of the explosive-laden device. The net can be thrown manually or can be fired from a gun that uses either pneumatic force or a firing cartridge to propel the net at its target.

The system and method for standoff detection of human carried explosives (HCE) automatically detects HCE (112) up to a range of (200) meters and within seconds alerts an operator to HCE (112) threats. The system (100) has radar only, or both radar and video sensors, a multi-sensor processor (102), an operator console (120), handheld displays (122), and a wideband wireless communications link. The processor (102) receives radar and video feeds and automatically tracks and detects all humans (110) in the field of view. Track data continuously cues the narrow beam radar (118) to a subject of interest (110), (112) the radar (106), (108) repeatedly interrogating cued objects (110), (112), producing a multi-polarity radar range profile for each interrogation event. Range profiles and associated features are automatically fused over time until sufficient evidence is accrued to support a threat / non-threat declaration hypothesis. Once a determination is made, the system (100) alerts operators through a handheld display (122) and mitigates the threat if desired.

A system for the stand-off detection of trace amounts of analyte materials such as explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, and the like includes an ion source that is operably connected to an ion collection means and to a sensor. The ion source employs a first gas that is passed through an electrical discharge to produce metastable gas molecules as well as charged particles of various kinds. Ions and other charged particles are removed from the first gas which is then reacted with a second gas having a lower ionization potential to obtain reactant ions of relatively uniform energy. The reactant ions are focused and accelerated into a beam that is directed upon a surface, such as luggage or clothing that is being interrogated, to produce analyte ions which are collected and passed into the sensor that is preferably a differential mobility spectrometer.

A solid object having controlled frangibility, such as a bullet or a container for explosives, is made by combining two different metals in proportions calculated to achieve a desired density, without using lead. A wetting material is deposited on the base constituent which is made of a relative dense, hard material. The wetting material enhances the wettability of the base constituent with the binder constituent, which is lighter and softer than the base constituent.

A system for the stand-off detection of trace amounts of analyte materials such as explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, and the like includes an ion source that is operably connected to an ion collection means and to a sensor. The ion source employs a first gas that is passed through an electrical discharge to produce metastable gas molecules as well as charged particles of various kinds. Ions and other charged particles are removed from the first gas which is then reacted with a second gas having a lower ionization potential to obtain reactant ions of relatively uniform energy. The reactant ions are focused and accelerated into a beam that is directed upon a surface, such as luggage or clothing that is being interrogated, to produce analyte ions which are collected and passed into the sensor that is preferably a differential mobility spectrometer.

Apparatus for inspecting a vehicle in order to determine whether portions of the vehicle have been altered to conceal contraband or explosives. The apparatus captures an image of an area of a vehicle that should not be altered from a known configuration and compares the image to a reference image of the area as it should appear if it is unaltered. If the captured image and the reference image match, the vehicle is considered unaltered, and hence safe to pass. If the captured image and the reference image do not match, the vehicle is identified as likely to have been altered, and hence a candidate for further inspection. An alert is produced if at least one such difference is found.

A device is provided for testing surfaces of a card for the presence of explosives, drugs or other substances of interest. The device includes a slot for receiving the card. Thin metallic wiper blades are dispose in alignment with the slot and wipe over surfaces of the card as the card is passed through the slot. Thus, substances on the surface of the card are transferred to the wiper blade. The wiper blade then is enclosed and rapidly heated to desorb the material retrieved from the card. The enclosure then is placed in communication with a detector to test for the presence of substances of interest.

A laser and monitoring system is provided. In another aspect of the present invention, the system includes a laser, pulse shaper and detection device. A further aspect of the present invention employs a femtosecond laser and binary pulse shaping (BPS). Still another aspect of the present invention uses a laser beam pulse, a pulse shaper and a SHG crystal. In yet another aspect of the present invention, a multiphoton intrapulse interference phase scan (hereinafter “MIIPS”) method is used to characterize the spectral phase of femtosecond laser pulses and to correct them. A further aspect of the system of the present invention is employed to monitor environmental chemicals and biological agents, including toxins, explosives, and diseases.

A method and equipment for detecting an explosive, etc. are disclosed. A specified portion highly likely to contain an explosive, etc. is extracted based on the X-ray image obtained by radiating an X ray on an object to be inspected. An electromagnetic wave containing the terahertz wave is radiated on the specified portion thus extracted. The presence or absence of the explosive, etc. is determined based on at least one of the absorption spectrum and the reflection spectrum of the electromagnetic wave at the specified portion.

A security system and method for mass transit and mass transportation whereby high capacity mobile vehicles such as ships, buses, planes, trains and subways transporting large numbers of passengers or cargo, are continuously monitored and secured. Sensors are utilized to detect and alert the presence of radioactive or explosive materials on board as well as within close proximity of the vehicle. Sensors are also used to identify and track cargo and people, such as drivers, operators, employees, crew, and passengers, and provide continuous location and tracking thereof from the point of initial entry to the final point of exit. Additionally, a global positioning system (GPS) provides location data, and wireless data and telecommunications link provides two-way data and voice communication with any designated remote location by using one of several modes of wireless telecommunication. Cameras provide visual observation within designated viewable areas, and may be activated by any detection of motion, and are infrared or night vision capable allowing viewing even in extremely poor light conditions. DVR recording allow a huge amount of video content from the cameras to be digitally recorded, then played back later for further analysis. Finally, the Security System may optionally have an Internet Protocol (IP) address thereby allowing authorized persons to access the system from secured Internet connection.

A method for inspecting a package to identify an object concealed in the package includes passing two beams of THz-radiation through the package. The frequency of THz radiation in one beam is different from that in the other, and the beams are at an angle to each other. Each of the transmitted beams is used to form an image of the package and the object. The absorption coefficient of the object is determined from the two images. The material of the object is determined from the absorption coefficients at the two frequencies. The method is useful for detecting explosive material concealed in baggage.

The compositions of different energetic metallic particles and corresponding coatings are chosen to take advantage of the resulting exothermic alloying reactions when the metals are combined or alloyed through heat activation. Bimetallic particles composed of a core / shell structure of differing metals are chosen such that, upon achieving the melt point for at least one of the metals, a relatively substantial amount of exothermic heat of alloying is liberated. In an embodiment, the core metal is aluminum and the shell metal is nickel. The nickel may be applied to the outer surface of the aluminum particles using an electroless process from a metal salt solution with a reducing agent in an aqueous solution or a solvent media. The aluminum particles may be pretreated with zinc to remove any aluminum oxide. The resulting bimetallic particles may be utilized as an enhanced blast additive by being dispersed within an explosive material.

Devices, apparatus and methods are disclosed for non-contact pneumatic sampling and sampling of surfaces, persons, articles of clothing, buildings, furnishings, vehicles, baggage, packages, mail, and the like, for contaminating aerosols indicative of a hazard or a benefit, where the contaminating aerosols are chemical, radiological, biological, toxic, or infectious in character. In a first device, a central orifice for pulling a suction gas stream is surrounded by a peripheral array of convergingly-directed gas jets, forming a virtual sampling chamber. The gas jets are configured to deliver millisecond pneumatic pulses that erode particles from solid surfaces at a distance. In another aspect of the invention, a suction gas stream is split using an air-to-air concentrator so that a particle-enriched gas flow is directed to a particle trap and any particles immobilized in the particle trap (including any adsorbed vapors associated with the particles) are selectively analyzed to detect trace residues associated with explosives.

Blast resistant and blast directing containers, as well as doors and closures therefor, for receiving explosive articles and preventing or minimizing damage in the event of an explosion. The container comprises at least three nested bands of material wherein the bands are oriented relative to one another to substantially enclose a volume and to form a container wall having a thickness substantially equivalent to the sum of the thicknesses of at least two of the bands. The containers have utility as cargo holders, particularly in aircraft where weight is an important consideration, and as transport devices for hazardous materials such as gunpowder and explosives, e.g., bombs and grenades.

Devices, apparatus and methods are disclosed for non-contact pneumatic sampling and sampling of surfaces, persons, articles of clothing, buildings, furnishings, vehicles, baggage, packages, mail, and the like, for contaminating aerosols or vapors indicative of a hazard or a benefit, where the contaminating aerosols or vapors are chemical, radiological, biological, toxic, or infectious in character. In a first device, a central orifice for pulling a suction gas stream is surrounded by a peripheral array of convergingly-directed gas jets, forming a virtual sampling chamber. The gas jets are configured to deliver millisecond pneumatic pulses that erode particles and vapors from solid surfaces at a distance. In another aspect of the invention, a suction gas stream is split using an air-to-air concentrator so that a particle-enriched gas flow is directed to a particle trap and particles immobilized therein are selectively analyzed for explosives and explosives related materials under optimized conditions for analyzing particle-associated constituents and a bulk flow is directed to a vapor trap and free vapors immobilized therein are selectively analyzed for explosives and explosives related materials under optimized conditions for analyzing free vapors. Detection signals from the particle channel and the vapor channel are compared or integrated to detect trace residues associated with explosives.

A method of detecting a presence or absence of subject matter of interest, for example, sheet explosives and / or other potential threat objects is provided by various local and / or global gradient analysis methods including determining characteristics of gradient information of regions in an X-ray image to determine if the regions are associated with subject matter of interest for which detection may be desired, for example, contraband, explosives and / or other prohibited or unauthorized material.

A training cartridge projectile for use in either a plastic cartridge case or a conventional metal cartridge case is disclosed that contains no explosive material. The projectile has an insert having a body portion and a front end, a container overmolded onto the body portion of the insert, a frangible ogive fastened to the front end of the tubular insert; and a payload module within the ogive in front of the container carrying a non-explosive signature material for providing a visual indication of projectile impact to an observer upon projectile impact with an object. The module includes a hollow frangible ampoule containing the signature material, and a generally disc shaped base member engaging the insert and closing the ampoule. The base member preferably has a set of axially extending vanes engaging the signature material during spin-up as the projectile is accelerated through the bore of the weapon firing the projectile.

Homeland Intelligence Systems Technology “H-LIST” comprises nano-sensors embedded in a silicon substrate and etched / fused in a micro-fibered material to enable an outfit for monitoring suspicious terrorist activities and for track biological and chemical gases, and explosives, including stationary and portable weapons of mass destruction such as those that are likely carried on the body of a terrorist or suicide bomber, or that are likely planted in a parked vehicle or carried inside a moving vehicle. H-LIST includes a wired outfit comprising at least a jacket that is worn by an officer, a security officer, a bus driver, hostesses, Doctors and the like, for sensing deadly gases and explosives in a defined area. A receptor is operatively configured with the outfit and attached on a waist belt, and communicatively connected to the outfit input / output connector through at least wired or wirelessly means for empowering the sensors and for receiving signal communication wirelessly; indicating the presence of a sensed agent. Detected signals are transported wirelessly through radio frequency signals to a central security monitoring station, enabling communication with first responders and backup security personnel or agents to the vicinity of the detection. The sensors are multifunctional and coded to recognize wavelike pattern of gases and explosives traveling through wave. The wired outfit and the receptor are operable to process the portion of the detection signal to determine whether there is a concealed object by conducting a test in which a first characteristic of a first dielectric constant associated with a person is determined, and a second characteristic of a second dielectric constant associated with the concealed object and or weapons of mass destruction is determined to expedite data transmission and communication to first responders.

A method for detecting an explosive in an object under investigation involves the initial X-ray irradiation of the object under investigation, e.g. a piece of luggage or mailing, and forming its X-ray images; using the X-ray images to detect areas with a high density of organic materials and identifying articles therein; determining the location, dimensions and supposed mass of an unidentified article; determining and forming a directional pattern of the neutron radiator corresponding to the dimensions of the unidentified article. The method further includes subsequent thermal neutron irradiation of the area with the unidentified article; recording gamma-ray quanta having the energy of 10.8 MeV and cascade gamma-ray quanta with energies of 5.534 and 5.266 MeV by at least two gamma-ray detectors; counting of simultaneously recorded pairs of cascade gamma-ray quanta; determination of the overall gamma-ray intensity, taking into account weight factors in readings of the detectors; determination of the threshold value for the overall gamma-ray intensity basing on the supposed mass of explosive being detected; and making a decision in the event the threshold value of overall gamma-ray intensity is exceeded. When checking small-size objects, the neutron irradiation step is preceded by replacing the ambient air by a gaseous medium not containing nitrogen.

A digital Laminographic or Tomosynthesis method is described for use in the detection of explosives concealed in baggage. The method uses at least one source of x-ray and at least two sets of detectors, preferably more to generate 3D images of high detail. The data from the detectors can be simply time delayed and summed up to generate high definition image of layers through the bag. This leads to very high speed of 3D imaging, the same speed as in regular x-ray scanners. In addition, there is no rotating gantry, the systems is simple, compact, relatively inexpensive, and can be used to generate 3D images of large shipping containers.