SBIR-STTR Award

VAWD has extensive experience developing technologies and products for Sense Through The Wall (STTW) and RF Penetration through materials. Based on our experience we believe that the RF spectrum is a natural fit to solve this problem. Therefore we have constrained our trade space for an optimized microwave technology solution.VAWD proposes techniques that will use Multi-Frequency discrimination in order to have reliable detection and identification hidden chambers. The Multi-Frequency techniques will use some of the same radar hardware and signal processing concepts that enabled us to penetrate through common building materials such as brick, cinder block, concrete, wood, sheet rock, ply wood, etc. and measure human micro-Doppler. The difference is to simultaneously use a higher frequency that does not penetrate through obstructions. This frequency will be about ten times the STTW frequency with an antenna pattern designed to mimic the STTW antenna. This technique allows the system to discriminate between multipath within the room and reflections from another chamber. The structure features will be classified into rooms so that hidden chambers can be identified.

VAWD Applied Science and Technology is pleased to offer the following proposal in response to Phase II - SOCOM173-004 - "Handheld or Body-worn Hidden Chamber Detection". The Handheld Hidden Chamber Detection Radar will operate like a flash light and automatically detect, locate, and classify hidden compartments. The Radar will operate from inside a building for room to room operations discriminating normal space versus hidden chambers within an average-sized room (68 square feet) at a standoff range at least 2 meters away from the wall. The operator will be able to quickly detect, locate, and discriminate hidden chambers and people. A user interface will display the hidden chamber along with its approximate depth and if humans are inside. The Radar will be easy to operate and automatically adjust to work on various building materials including brick, cinder block, solid concrete, wood and sheet rock. Based on our findings in Phase 1, we believe that a dual band RF spectrum is a natural fit to create this technology.