An overview of this conference (#6203) will include an overview of the program. A summary of the background and activities of SPIE's Global Homeland Security Technical Group, especially the Port and Harbor Security and Drinking Water Safety sub-committees will be included. Highlights and interesting aspects of the FY 06 & 07 Department of Homeland Security Budgets will be briefly discussed as well as the FY 07 Federal R&D budget focusing on Homeland Security.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is developing and fielding advanced strategies that dramatically improve the nation's capabilities to prevent, prepare for, detect, and respond to terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) weapons. The science, technology, and integrated systems we provide are informed by and developed with key partners and end users. LLNL's long-standing role as one of the two principle U.S. nuclear weapons design laboratories has led to significant resident expertise for health effects of exposure to radiation, radiation detection technologies, characterization of radioisotopes, and assessment and response capabilities for terrorist nuclear weapons use. This paper provides brief overviews of a number of technologies developed at LLNL that are being used to address national security needs to confront the growing threats of CBRNE terrorism.

Advances in infrared sensors and developments in pointing and stabilization technology, as well as integrated controls and displays have led to mature designs being incorporated in civil as well as military surveillance and security systems. Technical challenges arise in applying electro-optical sensor technology to detect, track and identify individuals and to detect contraband and hidden objects; while at the same time providing positive cost/benefit metrics for both point protection and area surveillance applications. Specific electro-optical sensor modalities, including visible, near-, mid- and far-infrared as well as ultraviolet may be used individually and in combination to perform specific security applications. This presentation will review the current electro-optics technology, its applications, and future developments that will have an influence in homeland defense applications.

Room-temperature targets are detected at the furthest distance by imaging them in the long wavelength (LW: 8-12 μm) infrared spectral band where they glow brightest. Focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) have sensitivity, noise, and cost metrics that have enabled them to become the best commercial solution for certain security and surveillance applications. Recently, QWIP technology has advanced to provide pixelregistered dual-band imaging in both the midwave (MW: 3-5 μm) and longwave infrared spectral bands in a single chip. This elegant technology affords a degree of target discrimination as well as the ability to maximize detection range for hot targets (e.g. missile plumes) by imaging in the midwave and for room-temperature targets (e.g. humans, trucks) by imaging in the longwave with one simple camera. Detection-range calculations are illustrated and FPA performance is presented.

Thermal imaging plays an increasingly significant role in border & coastal security programs around the world. Recent advances in thermal imaging cameras are complimented by new system architectures based on IP networks and video analysis technology. These new technologies provide the user community with vast improvements in system performance and flexibility. This paper provides an overview of the technologies and the benefits they provide.

The geographic lines of the land borders between the United States and Mexico total over 6,000 miles. The vast majority of those borders are in difficult to reach remote landscape. This makes it nearly impossible to patrol with any reasonable amount of personal or budget. Thus, the primary approach has been to mix a combination of low cost acoustic/seismic sensors with remotely controlled EO cameras. While moderately successful in controlled locations, these systems are expensive to install and expensive to man. The cost of these systems rises further when operation is required in night and adverse weather conditions. A lower cost of installation and maintenance could be achieved with miniaturized EO/IR cameras combined with intelligent remote and central processing. Advances in both VNIR and LW infrared sensors and developments in integrated signal processing now make possible a distributed low cost surveillance system. The ability now exists to detect, track, and classify people and equipment prior to notification of the responding agent.

As the world's leading developer and producer of tactical missiles, Raytheon has leveraged its AIM-9X missile seeker and domain experience to design, develop and demonstrate a fourth-generation Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) system for tactical military aircraft and other light platforms. The benefits of this capability include (1) reliable protection against threat missiles, including multiple and short shots, (2) the use of a small, reliable and proven AIM-9X-based laser-pointer, (3) advanced laser options for state-of-the-art threats, (4) high-rate and high-quality production capacity, and (5) low cost.

In early 2004, L-3 Com AVISYS Corporation (hereinafter referred to as L-3 AVISYS or AVISYS) completed a contract for the integration and deployment of an advanced Infrared Countermeasures self-protection suite for a Head of State Airbus A340 aircraft. This initial L-3 AVISYS IRCM Suite was named WIPPS (Widebody Integrated Platform Protection System). The A340 WIPPS installation provisions were FAA certified with the initial deployment of the modified aircraft. WIPPS is unique in that it utilizes a dual integrated missile warning subsystem to produce a robust, multi-spectral, ultra-low false alarm rate threat warning capability. WIPPS utilizes the Thales MWS-20 Pulsed Doppler Radar Active MWS and the EADS AN/AAR-60 Ultraviolet Passive MWS. These MWS subsystems are integrated through an L-3 AVISYS Electronic Warfare Control Set (EWCS). The EWCS also integrates the WIPPS MWS threat warning information with the A340 flight computer data to optimize ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensing System IR decoy dispensing commands, program selection and timing. WIPPS utilizes standard and advanced IR Decoys produced by ARMTEC Defense and Alloy Surfaces. WIPPS demonstrated that when IR decoy dispensing is controlled by threat range and time-to-go information provided by an Active MWS, unsurpassed self protection levels are achievable. Recognizing the need for high volume civil aviation protection, L-3 AVISYS configured a variant of WIPPS optimized for commercial airline reliability requirements, safety requirements, supportability and most importantly, affordability. L-3 AVISYS refers to this IRCM suite as CAPS (Commercial Airliner Protection System). CAPS has been configured for applications to all civil aircraft ranging from the small Regional Jets to the largest Wide-bodies. This presentation and paper will provide an overview of the initial WIPPS IRCM Suite and the important factors that were considered in defining the CAPS configuration.

Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, or MANPADS, have arisen as a major threat to commercial and military air traffic. While no MANPADS attacks have yet occurred within the United States, the risk posed by these weapons is undeniable. MANPADS were originally developed by the Soviet Union and the United States for tactical air defense, but since then these weapons have proliferated around the world. Two major approaches to countering these weapons have arisen: aircraft based and ground based. Aircraft-based systems typically use either flares or lasers to either confuse or blind the oncoming missile, thus driving it off target. These systems have been in use for many years on military aircraft and have been proven effective. However, when one considers the commercial air travel industry, the cost of providing a countermeasure system on every plane becomes prohibitive. A ground-based system by contrast protects every aircraft arriving or departing from an airport. By deploying a ground-based system at high-traffic and hub airports, a large percentage of the flying public can be protected affordably. Vigilant Eagle is such a ground based system which uses High Power Microwaves (HPM) to accomplish this mission.

The latest events of ground-to-air Man Portable Air Defense (MANPAD) attacks against aircraft have revealed a new threat both for military and civilian aircraft. Consequently, the implementation of Protecting systems (i.e. Directed InfraRed Counter Measure - DIRCM) in order to face IR guided missiles turns out to be now inevitable. In a near future, aircraft will have to possess detection, tracking, targeting and jamming capabilities to face single and multiple MANPAD threats fired in short-range scenarios from various environments (urban sites, landscape...). In this paper, a practical example of a DIRCM system under study at SAGEM DEFENSE & SECURITY company is presented. The self-protection solution includes built-in and automatic locking-on, tracking, identification and laser jamming capabilities, including defeat assessment. Target Designations are provided by a Missile Warning System. Multiple Target scenarios have been considered to design the system architecture. The article deals with current and future threats (IR seekers of different generations...), scenarios and platforms for system definition. Plus, it stresses on self-protection solutions based on laser jamming capability. Different strategies including target identification, multi band laser, active imagery are described. The self-protection system under study at SAGEM DEFENSE & SECURITY company is also a part of this chapter. Eventually, results of self-protection scenarios are provided for different MANPAD scenarios. Data have been obtained from a simulation software. The results highlight how the system reacts to incoming IR-guided missiles in short time scenarios.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 the drinking water industry like many other sectors of our society realized the possibility that they could potentially become the target of malevolent acts. The most serious concern is that an individual or group might intentionally contaminate the public water supply. From an analytical perspective this new concern introduced two challenges. The first is the need to be able to conduct rapid analyses, perhaps at the scene of a suspected contamination event, to obtain preliminary, presumptive information that can help emergency responders determine, in a timely manner, whether a harmful substance had indeed been introduced into the water. The second challenge is the need to develop a robust and sensitive continuous online monitoring system that can detect harmful chemicals, microbes, or radionuclides that may have intentionally, or even accidentally, found their way into the municipal water system. This paper summarizes the current state of technology in these two areas and describes some of the shortfalls where future development is needed.

In light of growing concern over the safety and security of our nation's drinking water, increased attention has been focused on advanced monitoring of water distribution systems. The key to these advanced monitoring systems lies in the combination of real time data and robust statistical analysis. Currently available data streams from sensors provide near real time information on water quality. Combining these data streams with change detection algorithms, this project aims to develop automated monitoring techniques that will classify real time data and denote anomalous water types. Here, water quality data in 1 hour increments over 3000 hours at 4 locations are used to test multivariate algorithms to detect anomalous water quality events. The algorithms use all available water quality sensors to measure deviation from expected water quality. Simulated anomalous water quality events are added to the measured data to test three approaches to measure this deviation. These approaches include multivariate distance measures to 1) the previous observation, 2) the closest observation in multivariate space, and 3) the closest cluster of previous water quality observations. Clusters are established using kmeans classification. Each approach uses a moving window of previous water quality measurements to classify the current measurement as normal or anomalous. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves test the ability of each approach to discriminate between normal and anomalous water quality using a variety of thresholds and simulated anomalous events. These analyses result in a better understanding of the deviation from normal water quality that is necessary to sound an alarm.

Optoelectronic and other conventional water quality sensors offer a potential for real-time online detection of chemical and biological contaminants in a drinking water supply and distribution system. The nature of the application requires sensors of detection capabilities at low contaminant concentrations, for continuous data acquisition and management, and with reduced background noise and low false detection rates for a wide spectrum of contaminants. To meet these application requirements, feasibilities of software-based methods were examined and a novel technique was developed using adaptive monitoring and contaminant detection methodologies. This new monitoring and early detection framework relies on the local adaptive and network adaptive sensors in order to reduce background noise interference and enhance contaminant peak identifications. After "noise" reduction, the sensor measurements can be assembled and analyzed for temporal, spatial and inter-parameter relationships. Further detection reliability improvement is accomplished through signal interpretation in term of chemical signatures and in consideration of contaminant fate and transport in pipe flows. Based on this integrated adaptive approach, a data statistical compression technique can be used to process and reduce the sensor onboard data for background variations, which frequently represent a bulk of inflowing data stream. The adaptive principles and methodology were examined using a pilot-scale distribution simulator at the U.S. EPA Test & Evaluation facility. Preliminary results indicate the research and development activities on adaptive monitoring may lead to the emergence of a practical drinking water online detection system.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) is the primary energy transfer molecule present in all living biological cells on Earth. ATP cannot be produced or maintained by anything but a living organism, and as such, its measurement is a direct indication of biological activity. The main advantage of ATP as a biological indicator is the speed of the analysis - from collecting the sample to obtaining the result, only minutes are required. The technology to measure ATP is already widely utilized to verify disinfection efficacy in the food industry and is also commonly applied in industrial water processes such as cooling water systems to monitor microbial growth and biocide applications. Research has indicated that ATP measurement technology can also play a key role in such important industries as potable water distribution and biological wastewater treatment. As will be detailed in this paper, LuminUltra Technologies has developed and applied ATP measurement technologies designed for any water type, and as such can provide a method to rapidly and accurately determine the level of biological activity in drinking water supplies. Because of its speed and specificity to biological activity, ATP measurement can play a key role in defending against failing drinking water quality, including those encountered during routine operation and also bioterrorism.

Gradient direction matching (GDM) is the main target identification algorithm used in the Image Content Engine project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. GDM is a 3D solid model-based edge-matching algorithm which does not require explicit edge extraction from the source image. The GDM algorithm is presented, identifying areas where performance enhancement seems possible. Improving the process of producing model gradient directions from the solid model by assigning different weights to different parts of the model is an extension tested in the current study. Given a simple geometric model, we attempt to determine, without obvious semantic clues, if different weight values produce significantly better matching accuracy, and how those weights should be assigned to produce the best matching accuracy. Two simple candidate strategies for assigning weights are proposed: pixel-weighted and edge-weighted. We adjust the weights of the components in a simple model of a tractor/semi-trailer using relevance feedback to produce an optimal set of weights for this model and a particular test image. The optimal weights are then compared with pixel and edge-weighting strategies to determine which is most suitable and under what circumstances.

A robust approach for automatically extracting roads from overhead images is developed in this paper. The first step involves extracting a very dense set of edge pixels using a technique based on the magnitude and direction of pixel gradients. In step two, the edges are separated into successive channels of edge orientation that each contain edge pixels whose gradient directions lie within a different angular range. A de-cluttered map of edge curve segments is extracted from each channel, and the results are merged into a single composite map of broken edge curves. The final step divides broken curves into segments that are nearly linear and classifies each segment as connected at both ends or disconnected. A measure of connectability between two disconnected line segments based on proximity and relative alignment is defined mathematically. Each disconnected segment is paired with the disconnected segment that it is most connectable to. Pairs of segments are merged if their separation and misalignment are below thresholds (manually specified at present) and the connectability of the pair is two-way optimal. Extended curve and road extraction examples are provided using commercial overhead images.

The Image Content Engine (ICE) is a framework of software and underlying mathematical and physical models that enable scientists and analysts to extract features from Terabytes of imagery and search the extracted features for content relevant to their problem domain. The ICE team has developed a set of tools for feature extraction and analysis of image data, primarily based on the image content. The scale and volume of imagery that must be searched presents a formidable computation and data bandwidth challenge, and a search of moderate to large scale imagery quickly becomes intractable without exploiting high degrees of data parallelism in the feature extraction engine. In this paper we describe the software and hardware architecture developed to build a data parallel processing engine for ICE. We discuss our highly tunable parallel process and job scheduling subsystem, remote procedure invocation, parallel I/O strategy, and our experience in running ICE on a 16 node, 32 processing element (CPU) Linux Cluster. We present performance and benchmark results, and describe how we obtain excellent speedup for the imagery searches in our test-bed prototype.

Developed for the Army's White Sands Missile Range, this precision zoom lens consists of 16 refractive elements with three stationary lens groups and two moving lens groups. Using optical compensation, the focus and zoom are simultaneously maintained for focal lengths from 750 mm (f/4) to 3800 mm (f/14) at a resolution of 100 line pairs/mm (lp/mm) and an image field of 24 mm. The throughput of the lens is ~85%, and the lens is optimized over the visible waveband (485 nm to 650 nm). The zoom lens images objects at distances from 0.7 km to 100 km and is thermally compensated over a temperature range of 20 °F to 120 °F. Optical assembly was accomplished in about a week.

Historically, the US Army, border security agencies as well as in transportation security planner has recognized the advantages of panoramic imagers, increased areas coverage with fewer cameras, tracking of multiple target simultaneously and others. However, panoramic imager has blind zone when using catadioptric system and required high bandwidth and heavy installation with fisheye lens to get an interesting resolution. The novel Panomorph lens is the heart of the new surveillance and security system developed by ImmerVision. The Panomorph lens is anticipated to be a new generation of lenses that can be used with NTSC or PAL camera to provide equivalent resolution than a 2 MPixels system but at a fraction of the cost by using existing facilities (cable, camera...). By introducing at the optical design stage a proper angular to pixel function (distortion), the new lens can provide a higher resolution in a define zone of interest than a standard fisheye. To achieve a gain in resolution, a pixel size well corrected image spot size is required. Our development included a strong optical design effort that resulted in an all refractive anamorphic panoramic imager with uncompromised image resolution for longer range detection in the zone of interest. The paper describes the development and real performance status of the Panomorph lens. Other components of the ImmerVision system include image correction, image compression and data transferred to handle devices. The same approach can also be used with IR imager where the number of pixel is limited.

The development highly reliable optical sensors are crucial not only to prevent failure of the most vital part engineering constructions such as nuclear or power plants, airplanes, submarines, etc., but operate under high level electrically hazardous environment caused by explosions or high level nuclear radiation. Proposed sensor and measurement technology, which operated light by light can dramatically reduce failures most vital part of engineering constructions listed above and is not vulnerable to electromagnetic radiation during explosions or terrorist attacks.

Laser based illumination has proven to be useful in a number of defense and security applications such as target illumination, counter measures, mine detection, and LADAR. For some of these applications, it is desirable to create an illumination with a specified angular dependence, while for others it is desirable to have a particular illumination profile at a specified plane. Conventional approaches to these requirements often involve beam truncation or beam energy redistribution with the target plane having a limited range. Diffractive optic based approaches are capable of providing high performance solutions to many of these problems. For example, a diffractive diffuser approach can be used to create tailored intensity profiles which can be much more efficient than using a truncated Gaussian beam in the region of interest. In particular, the binary optics approach to fabrication of diffractive optics provides a repeatable, high quality method for volume manufacturing of these elements. At Digital Optics Corporation, we have designed and fabricated wafer-based optics for a variety of applications in the 157nm-14μm wavelength range. During this talk we will present design and experimental results for several applications illustrating the use of diffractive elements for laser based illumination.

Optical information processing techniques have been developed for information security and fraud deterrent applications. Several encryption methods have been proposed in the literature, which includes optical double random-phase encryption, polarization encoding, encryption and verification using a multiplexed minimum average correlation energy phase-encrypted filter. All these reports employed a pseudo-random number for the code. But as such numbers are not uncorrelated, the security is not guaranteed because a wrong code may also extract some of the features of the coded information. The objective of the paper is to develop an optical security system employing orthogonal code for protection of personal identification information. As the orthogonal codes have zero or minimum cross-correlation depending on the offset between the codes, a wrong code can not decrypt any information. Here a simple encryption technique is proposed in spatial domain, where the input images are first spread in one dimension using an optical lens and then multiplied by the respective code. Finally, the individual encrypted images are superimposed on a common spatial domain. The individual images can then be decrypted by correlating the received signal with the respective address code. Computer simulation results show that any information containing binary characters can be encrypted and then decrypted successfully. The encrypted images are found to be secure, because no unwanted reproduction is possible without having the appropriate code. The technique also offers an efficient use of the storage or transmission capacity. Therefore, the proposed optical encryption technique can be applied to securing personal identification or similar information.

The important problem of the correction algorithm needed for a given optical glas having unacceptable aberration is build on the computer investigation. For this purpose the different kind of the subsystems are presented by means of the corresponding transfer function. In the result an electronic digital approach correction of the distortion caused of the optical system is suggested.

The majority of explosives found in antipersonnel and antitank landmines contain 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). Chemical sensing of landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) requires detecting the chemical signatures of the explosive components in these devices. Nanotechnology is ideally suited to needs in microsensors development by providing new materials and methods that can be employed for trace explosive detection. This work is focused on modification of nano-scaled colloids of titanium dioxide (Titania: anatase, rutile and brookite) and thin layer of the oxides as substrates for use in Enhanced Raman Scattering (ERS) spectroscopy. Ultrafine particles have been generated by hydrothermally treating the sol-gel derived hydrous oxides. ERS spectra of nanocrystalline anatase Titania samples prepared with different average sizes: 38 nm (without acid), 24 nm (without acid) and 7 nm (with HCl). Bulk phase (commercial) and KBr were also used to prepare mixtures with TNT to look for Enhanced Raman Effect of the nitroaromatic explosive on the test surfaces. The studies clearly indicated that the anatase crystal size affects the enhancement of the TNT Raman signal. This enhancement was highest for the samples with Titania average crystal size of 7 nm.

In this paper, the fundamental principle of optical limiting by using nonlinear grating is theoretically described and experimentally observed. And a device which has a nonlinear liquid solution filled between a surface-relief diffraction grating and a polymer plate was designed to fulfill the purpose of optical limiting. By measuring the dependence of output energy on input energy, we got the transmittance of the device. Based on theory and experiment, we analyzed the limiting character of the device sandwich-liked.