Reconfigurable Reflect-Array Patterns for Faster Threat Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current security screening systems are inefficient, costly, and require a large number of measurements to accurately detect threat objects, especially when the scanning signal is sparse, leading to long lines and invasive methods.
Innovation Solution
Employing an optimized radiation pattern based on optimized projections and a compressive sensing algorithm to reduce the number of measurements needed for threat detection, using a reflect-array system that can scan multiple objects simultaneously with reduced hardware and processing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a large number of measurements are taken during scanning, then the accuracy of threat object detection is improved, but the scanning time and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-calculating optimized projections using PCA on a database of scanned objects before actual scanning. These optimized projections are stored and later used as measurement patterns during scanning, eliminating the need for real-time complex computations and enabling fast acquisition of sufficient measurement data with reduced number of scans
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts only the most informative measurement patterns from the full set of possible projections by using PCA to identify and retain only the principal components that capture the essential variance in the data. This extraction allows the system to use a reduced set of optimized projections that provide sufficient detection accuracy with fewer measurements
2Reliability
If traditional scanning methods are used to ensure accurate image construction, then detection reliability is maintained, but the system becomes bulky and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical scanning systems with a computational approach using PCA-based optimized projections. Instead of using bulky mechanical scanners that require many measurements, the invention uses mathematical optimization to design measurement patterns that achieve reliable detection with minimal hardware and processing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the measurement process by using optimized projection patterns derived from PCA rather than traditional uniform scanning patterns. This parameter change in the measurement strategy enables reliable detection with fewer measurements and simplified hardware
3Ease of manufacture
If random radiation patterns are used for compressive sensing, then the system is simple to implement, but the sampling protocol is not optimized to capture signal information
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-computing optimized projections using PCA on training data before deployment. These pre-computed optimized projection patterns are then used during actual scanning, combining the simplicity of using fixed patterns with the information-capture efficiency of optimized measurements, avoiding both random patterns and real-time computation complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A threat detection system having a reconfigurable reflect-array and compressive sensing unit to effectively detect objects that are a threat is presented. A statistical library, having a wide range of threat and non-threat examples and capable of incorporating new examples while being used, is utilized by several optimization algorithms to calculate an optimal illumination pattern for compressive sensing detection. The reflect-array is configured to produce the optimal illumination pattern via a plurality of reflect-array elements. In this way, a plurality of data may be parallel processed, thereby increasing the detection speed and reducing cost.