If the Navy wants to detect nautical mines from the sky, the job often requires an MH-60 helicopter and an on-board countermeasure system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This arrangement lets operators learn about these mines and do so from a safe distance. Now the service wants something more nimble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One solution could be a small quadcopter sporting an ultra-sensitive magnetometer sensor system. This setup would allow the instrument to detect mines and then relay the information almost immediately to a handheld Android device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Navy hasn\u2019t committed to a platform yet, early trials have involved the Physical Sciences Instant Eye, which weighs less than five pounds and sports a diminutive 12-inch wingspan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Existing solutions \u201ctend to be large, expensive, or relatively slow,\u201d said Dr. Rosemarie Oelrich, a scientist at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division Combatant Craft Division. \u201cWe are looking for a quick exploratory search capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oelrich and her colleagues are testing what\u2019s formally known as a Mine Warfare Rapid Assessment Capability (MIW RAC) system, a product of the Office of Naval Research\u2019s (ONR) TechSolutions program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In development since 2015, the system could soon be available to the fleet, as engineers fine-tune the magnetometer sensor which forms the heart of the detector. Developed by Broadband Discovery Systems, the sensor uses complex algorithms to conduct a range of detections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Already, the Navy\u2019s expeditionary combat command and the explosive ordinance disposal group have both expressed an interest in the capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New capabilities<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previous remote-detection systems have struggled with immediacy, often leading to lag times as their discoveries were downloaded to end users. The Navy hopes to remedy this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome other autonomous systems will collect and record data and download upon their return,\u201d said Jason Payne, assistant program manager at ONR. \u201cThis gives real-time information back to the operator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While real-time reporting is valuable, the key capability is in the ability to distinguish between objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have a lot of magnetic noise out there in the environment and it can be a difficult issue for most magnetometers,\u201d Oelrich said. As an example, \u201cYour keys will always set off a metal detector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the new system has been carefully calibrated to flow with the noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you fly in an area with concrete and rebar, the sensor normalizes that out, it becomes part of the environment, and then it detects anything that is a signal on top of that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This doesn\u2019t mean the instruments can detect mines, per ser. It\u2019s easy to fake a magnetic signature. For example, a propane tank can be disguised as a water heater simply by sticking a couple of magnets on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sensors Oelrich\u2019s team is experimenting with wouldn\u2019t spot the difference \u2014 at least not yet \u2014 but, at a glance, it could tell the operator whether there was a metal object that required further investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve developed a detection system, not a classification system,\u201d Payne said. \u201cWe can detect a ferrous object, but we can\u2019t necessarily classify it as a mine or any particular threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s likely a new system would be augmented with a range of other ISR components, especially if operators were looking to get a more detailed look at suspect objects without having to put themselves in danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou may need to visually inspect something, in which case you could use the camera that is on the UAV, or if you want to identify a particular compound you may need an entirely different sensor,\u201d Oelrich said. \u201cIt will depend on the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the system has performed well in early trials, developers are looking at further advances. Right now, the steady flow of data can overwhelm a handheld device. Data interpolation and analysis tools could make that more manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Engineers also are tinkering with resolution, with the thought being that a lower-resolution scan could provide a quick glimpse with less data to transmit. This could be followed up by a deeper scan if needed. Alternately, a Windows version of the system could make it possible to attach a standalone computer and thus process the data even faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are trying hard to make the information as actionable as possible for the end user, while also giving them the ability to adjust settings at their discretion,\u201d Oelrich said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Navy is experimenting with a quadcopter that could detect mines in the water and then relay the information to a handheld device.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":47258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"7":{"categories":["your-navy","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-navy"}}},"categories":[106,29,32,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2063],"class_list":["post-15029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-unmanned"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZTQFQ63CSNACTF665T4RSRIVOQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/unmanned\/2017\/11\/16\/the-navy-wants-to-know-if-a-drone-can-detect-nautical-mines\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n