ERC - Small Business: Walking Robot Based Ground Penetrating Radar Sensor for Mine and IED Detection

ERC - 小型企业：基于行走机器人的探地雷达传感器，用于地雷和简易爆炸装置检测

• 批准号: 1128541
• 负责人: Carey Rappaport
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Northeastern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1128541&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERC; Small; Business; Walking; Robot

This effort is a collaboration between the Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (CenSSIS), an NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) at Northwestern University since 2000, and Square One, a small business partner of the ERC. Square One has been developing a walking robot and research at the CenSSIS ERC has developed ground penetrating radar systems (GPR). This effort integrates the GPR systems of CenSSIS into the walking robot of Square One. Square One's walking robot has been specifically designed to step over obstacles and move efficiently across rugged terrain. CenSSIS's GPR will be adapted for the robot with the radar antennae on the robot?s legs to put them in close contact with the ground and eliminate ground clutter interference. The system should be able to detect all land mines including the plastic mines having no metal and thus invisible to conventional magnetic mine detectors. Deployment of the system will eliminate thousands of land mines worldwide, with the ensuing reduction of death and personal injury.Intellectual MeritThe goal of this joint effort will be to develop and test a high resolution, self-propelled GPR unit.CenSSIS will computationally model the electromagnetic wave propagation and scattering characteristics of candidate GPR configurations, optimize radar signal performance relative to the configuration of the robot, and design geometry-specific algorithms for subsurface image reconstruction. Square One will create an application-specific version of the robot geometrically optimized for GPR use and integrated with impulse radar hardware and antennae. Additionally, Square One will draw on its ongoing SBIR Phase II effort to equip the robot with essential navigational software and sensors. The project will conclude with a series of comparative field tests aimed at conclusively establishing the superior performance of the combined system. The intellectual merit lies in the adaptation and integration of known engineering sciences to form a new system with a wide variety of applications.Broader Impact The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 200 million mines are in place throughout the world. These mines are a constant threat in many parts of the developing world. Military units, non-governmental agencies and commercial contractors work together to ameliorate the threat posed by landmines and other unexploded ordnance. However, the technique of using hand-held detectors to locate mines is essentially unchanged since World War II and demining operations remain slow and exceedingly dangerous. Given the vast areas of land that remain to be cleared, faster and safer methods of locating and neutralizing mines must be introduced. This effort addresses both the safety, cost and speed of mine detection. At Northeastern University several civil engineering undergraduates will continue to pursue interdisciplinary research on radar sensing; and a graduate IGERT student will direct her current electromagnetic modeling research toward the specific mine detection application. While demining operations will continue to be the main commercial market for the robot, numerous other markets will be attracted to the technology. In addition to the Department of Defense, demining contractors, oil companies, and construction firms have interests in ensuring safe terrain.

这项工作是戈登地下传感和成像系统中心（CenSSIS），自2000年以来西北大学的NSF工程研究中心（ERC）和ERC的小企业合作伙伴Square One之间的合作。Square One一直在开发一种步行机器人，CenSSIS ERC的研究开发了探地雷达系统（GPR）。 这项工作将CenSSIS的GPR系统集成到Square One的步行机器人中。Square One的步行机器人经过专门设计，可以跨越障碍物，在崎岖的地形上高效移动。CenSSIS的GPR将适用于机器人上的雷达天线？的腿，使它们与地面紧密接触，消除地面杂波干扰。这一系统应能探测所有地雷，包括没有金属因而对常规磁性地雷探测器不可见的塑料地雷。该系统的部署将消除世界各地成千上万的地雷，从而减少死亡和人身伤害。智力优势这一联合努力的目标将是开发和测试一个高分辨率，自走式GPR单元。CenSSIS将计算模型的电磁波传播和散射特性的候选GPR配置，优化雷达信号性能相对于机器人的配置，并设计用于地下图像重建的特定几何算法。Square One将创建一个针对特定应用的机器人版本，该机器人在几何上针对GPR进行了优化，并与脉冲雷达硬件和天线集成。此外，Square One将利用其正在进行的SBIR第二阶段工作，为机器人配备必要的导航软件和传感器。该项目最后将进行一系列对比现场试验，旨在最终确定组合系统的上级性能。其智力价值在于对已知的工程科学进行调整和整合，形成一个具有广泛应用的新系统。更广泛的影响美国国务院估计，全世界有2亿多枚地雷。这些地雷在发展中世界的许多地方是一个持续的威胁。军事单位、非政府机构和商业承包商共同努力，减轻地雷和其他未爆弹药构成的威胁。然而，自第二次世界大战以来，使用手持探测器确定地雷位置的技术基本上没有变化，排雷行动仍然缓慢而且极其危险。鉴于仍有大片土地有待清除，必须采用更快和更安全的方法来确定地雷的位置并使其失效。这一努力既解决了探雷的安全、费用问题，也解决了探雷的速度问题。在东北大学，几名土木工程本科生将继续从事雷达传感的跨学科研究; IGERT的一名研究生将把她目前的电磁建模研究引向特定的地雷探测应用。虽然排雷行动将继续是机器人的主要商业市场，但该技术将吸引许多其他市场。除了国防部，排雷承包商、石油公司和建筑公司也对确保安全地形感兴趣。