David W. Hannum

Explosives detection portal for high-volume personnel screening

We discuss a trace explosive detection portal for high-volume personnel screening, which has been developed recently at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), using funding provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Safeguards and Security (OSS). This portal screens individuals for explosives using noninvasive means to collect explosive residue in the forms of vapor and particulate contamination. The portal combines a commercially available ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) with a preconcentrator developed at SNL to perform detection of explosives. The prototype portal has undergone one series of tests at the Albuquerque International Airport, and we are now proceeding to develop an improved, second-generation portal, and to find a company to market the portal.

Miniaturized explosives preconcentrators for use in man-portable explosives detection systems

This paper describes the function and testing of miniaturized chemical concentrating devices that are designed to enhance the capabilities of portable trace explosive detection systems, such as those based on ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). These preconcentrators are based upon a patented design first developed for use in personnel portals, in which explosive vapor and/or residue is adsorbed onto a high density metal screen, and subsequently desorbed into the detector.

Robohound/spl trade/ remote explosives detection

With continued terrorist activities worldwide and the concern that explosive devices need to be detected in a variety of configurations while protecting individuals, there is a need to remotely detect potential explosive devices. Current handheld trace explosives detection sensors require the operator to stand within a few inches of a potential explosive device to ensure an adequate sample is collected. Because of the low vapor pressure of some explosives and the low vapor concentrations in airborne plumes emanating from a bulk explosive source, the sample collection method is critical when using an ion mobility spectrometer-based explosive detection sensor. The RoboHound/spl trade/, a prototype remote trace explosive detection system, is under development at Sandia National Laboratories to address this issue. The RoboHound/spl trade/ was designed for primary use in emergency response situations and could also be used for some checkpoint screening applications. The prototype uses a wheeled robotic platform with a manipulator arm and custom software for robotic controls; a chemical sample collector and preconcentrator; and a commercial explosives detector. The integrated system allows an operator to maneuver the system into position while remaining up to 100 feet away from a suspect vehicle, package, or other object, and take a sample for analysis.

Development of a trace explosives detection portal for personnel screening

We discuss the development, design and operation of a walk-through trace detection portal designed to screen personnel for explosives. Developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) with primary funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and additional support from the Department of Energy Office of Safeguards and Security, this portal is intended primarily for use in airport terminals and in other localities where a very high throughput of pedestrian traffic is combined with stringent security requirements. The portal is capable of detecting both vapor and particulate contamination, with the collection of explosive material being based upon the entrainment of that material in air flows over the body of the person being screened. This portal is capable of detecting high explosives of interest to the FAA. We discuss the results of field testing of the portal in the Albuquerque International Airport in September, 1997 and more recent steps towards commercialization of the portal.

RoboHound:developing sample collection and preconcentration hardware for a remote trace explosives detection system.

The RoboHound{trademark} Project was a three-year, multiphase project at Sandia National Laboratories to build and refine a working prototype trace explosive detection system as a tool for a commercial robot. The RoboHound system was envisioned to be a tool for emergency responders to test suspicious items (i.e., packages or vehicles) for explosives while maintaining a safe distance. The project investigated combining Sandias expertise in trace explosives detection with a wheeled robotic platform that could be programmed to interrogate suspicious items remotely for the presence of explosives. All of the RoboHound field tests were successful, especially with regards to the ability to collect and detect trace samples of RDX. The project has gone from remote sampling with human intervention to a fully automatic system that requires no human intervention until the robot returns from a sortie. A proposal is being made for additional work leading towards commercialization.