ARETE ASSOCIATES — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N162-113

Description

The Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) provides a powerful capability for the detection and classification of surface and near-surface mines; however, there is room for considerable improvement by exploiting the polarization characteristics of ambient and target lidar returns.For example, the surface specular return and near-surface volumetric backscatter are nearly co-polarized with the incident radiation, whereas the target returns are effectively depolarized.Such differences can be effectively exploited to discriminate between target and ambient returns, increasing the probability of detection while reducing the false alarm rate.Aret proposes to develop and demonstrate a dual-polarization ALMDS receiver to capture the polarization characteristics of both ambient and target returns, and implement advanced algorithms to optimally exploit the various polarization properties.Performance advantages will be quantified by analysis in Phase 1, and demonstrated through flight test against representative mine targets in Phase 2.In parallel with quantifying these performance advantages, the effort will also address the optimal approach for implementation into the existing ALMDS architecture to allow a seamless transition to fleet operations.Aret Associates is the original developer and current production supplier of the ALMDS system, and is uniquely qualified to design, develop, and deliver such improvements for ALMDS.