SBIR-STTR Award

E-OIR Technologies proposes the design and development of an automated, adaptive chemical exploitation systems (AACES) to support the passive detection and identification of chemical effluents. AACES will leverage proven remote sensing algorithms and adapt them to the passive Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR) problem. This research effort will investigate advanced background discrimination techniques, atmospheric compensation requirements, and adaptive methods for remote detection and identification of chemicals. The Phase I research will culminate in the development of an algorithm testbed for performance evaluation and a feasibility study. In subsequent phases a prototype hardware-based system will be implemented and tested The outcome of this research will culminate in a basic algorithm to provide improved detection and identification of chemical gases. The initial product line will be a complete processing and exploitation tool for spectral analysis of gases using imaging and non-imaging hyperspectral sensor data. This tool will integrate spectral libraries and processing algorithms into a user-friendly gui interface to support gas detection and identification for both intelligence and industrial monitoring applications. The second product will be an outcome of Phase II research in which the improved detection algorithm will be implemented in a hardware process and link to a commercial FTIR system. This system will support Homeland Defense and Physical Security Applications

Chemical weapons are inexpensive, accessible, and they can have devastating, long lasting effects on urban centers. Currently, no single chemical detection system can support the intelligence community in detecting and identifying chemical agents where they are manufactured and support first responder units in surveying the site of a chemical agent release. In Phase I, EOIR Technologies investigated and successfully demonstrated the feasibility of new algorithms and techniques for the research, design and development of an Automated, Adaptive Chemical Exploitation System (AACES) to support the passive detection and identification of chemical effluents. The proposed work in Phase II will improve these algorithms and result in a single system that will support a variety of missions. This system will increase the Probability of Detection and Probability of Identification of chemical agents by an estimated 50% and 75% respectively. Equally important, the AACES system will extend detection range performance or standoff distance by approximately a factor of two while simultaneously decreasing detection time by the same amount. To achieve these dramatic increases in performance, EOIR will develop several innovative signal to background discrimination techniques and adaptive exploitation algorithms. These new techniques will be integrated into a system designed to support wide-area search.

Benefits:
The remote standoff chemical detection system EOIR is proposing has an advantage over the current systems in that it can operate autonomously and constantly to sweep a wide-area, establish a suitable background, and detect any change in the environment. The key competitive advantage of this sensor is its ability to detect and identify chemicals remotely and independently. The sensor does not need to be manned at all times. It can be placed in an area to 'look out' over it. There is no need for this sensor to take an actual sample of the air, but can distinguish gases optically. The system could also be used for factory and production monitoring, chemical facility monitoring and environmental monitoring.

Keywords:
FTIR, Chemical Detection, Chemical Identification, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared, Adaptive Chemical Recognition, Remote Chemical Detection, Infrared