British engineers have taken inspiration from
dolphins for a new type of radar that could help detect roadside bombs more
easily.
The device sends out two pulses instead of one,
mimicking how dolphins pinpoint their prey.
The twin inverted pulse radar (TWIPR) can
distinguish between the electronics at the heart of an explosive and other
"clutter" such as pipes or nails.
The radar device has been developed by a team led by
Prof Tim Leighton, of the University of Southampton, and scientists from
University College, London.
Prof Leighton took his inspiration from the way
dolphins are able to process their sonar signals to pinpoint prey in bubbly
water.
Some dolphins blow bubble nets around schools of
fish to force them to cluster together.
Their sonar would not work if they could not
distinguish the fish from the bubbles.
He wanted to see if the same technique would work
with radio waves, and so developed a system that also sent out pulses in pairs.
Traditional radar typically sends out just one
pulse.
The device his team came up with was just 2cm in
size and cost less than £1 to put together.
The second pulse has the reverse polarity of the
first.
This means that if it hits an electronic device, it
turns the pulse into a positive, which in turn gives off a very strong signal.
In tests the team applied the radar pulses to an
antenna typical of the circuitry used in explosive devices, which was
surrounded by "clutter" metals.
The antenna showed up 100,000 times more powerfully
than the other metal "clutter".
Such a device could also be extremely helpful in
finding surveillance device as well as bombs, the team said.
It could even help locate people buried after an
avalanche or earthquake by detecting their mobile phones.
"Such technology could also be extended to
other radiations, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and light detection
and ranging (Lidar)... offering the possibility of early fire detection
systems," said Prof Leighton.
Gary Kemp, program director at technology
consultancy Cambridge Consultants, said that the system "shows
promise".
He said: "We continue to take inspiration from
the many animal super-senses found in nature, whether from the sophisticated
echolocation techniques used by bats and cetaceans or the remarkable chemical
detection ability of dogs and bees.
"Any technology that increases the probability
of detecting IEDs [improvised explosive device] or buried earthquake victims
while reducing false alarms will undoubtedly save lives," he added.
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