Indra leads an european I+D avant-garde project in long-distance detection of explosives

Indra leads the OPTIX project, promoted by the European Union within the VII Framework Programme of R+D that aims to develop new methods to detect long-distance explosives. The 3.3 m euros programme will develop a system capable of identifying traces at microgram level 20 meters away and to identify its nature. The prototype will be ready by the end of 2010 and the trials will be extended until the beginning of 2012.

This is the most ambitious project started up by the European Union in the explosives detection area. It can be used as a reliable method for explosive identification by the security forces and security corps. This way they will learn in advance whether a vehicle or a suspicious object contains explosives hence diminishing risks or if it is a false alarm. No other system in the world is as accurate for the Police forces’ use.

The solution is portable and will use a high-energy multi purpose laser to act on the object or matter in order to excite the substance to identify its chemical nature. The phase of definition of requirements and features has already concluded and the development phase will start in August.

The project is based on the fact that explosive handling always implies dissemination of residues. This makes handling and transportation without trace nearly impossible. The small traces adhere to the surface of objects that transport them, the hands of the people who handle them or whatever they come into contact with. Complete removal of the traces which are a millionth of a gram, makes it very difficult.

For maximum accuracy in the identification of the chemical pattern the system will combine three different techniques: LIBS spectroscopy, which captures the sign of the breaking of the atom after directing a high-energy laser beam (spark), Raman spectroscopy which measures changes of vibrations in the sample’s molecules with the aid of the laser allowing identification of the molecular structure and the Infrared spectroscopy that classifies samples according to radiation absorption ranges of the infra red spectrum.

OPTIX has been the only Spanish project of technological development in the Security sector to be selected by the European Union within the 2007 call of the VII Framework Programme of R+D where 45 bids out of 320 were approved. Indra’s proposal had the best rating in the explosives detection area.

The consortium lead by Indra consists of a variety of adequate academic and industrial partners such as The Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), Netherland and Lithuania’s small-and-medium sized enterprises Avantes and Ekspla respectively, the Technical University of Clausthal and Dortmund University of Technology both in Germany, Vienna University (Austria) and Malaga University (Spain). TEDAX, a division of Spain’s civil guard (Valdemoro, Madrid), will also participate as a first-level user and institutional partner.

To guarantee the success of the programme final users, security forces and corps from Europe who specialize in detection and neutralization of explosive devices will also participate in it.

Experts of the Civil Guard, Mosos de D’Esquadra, Ertzaintza and Rumania, Poland and Italy’s police forces attended recent conferences to get acquainted with the technology employed and features. Their feedback and awareness of their needs are necessary to customise the system. Once the prototype is developed, it will be examined and tested by these corps in order to verify it meets their operational requirements and hence guarantee OPTIX’s effectiveness.

A four-year research

Indra made up a research team four years ago to develop new technologies to detect explosives. Its objective was to provide the security forces with technology solutions to tackle terrorism attacks that included improvised explosive devices, which make up a 60% of the cases.

One of the first technologies Indra started working on was LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy).

For this study, Indra started up the DeLIBeS programme (2006-2007) in cooperation with Malaga University. This initiative which was financed by the Ministry of Defence, the Technology Corporation of Andalusia (CTA) and the Ministry of Industry –through the profit programme, analysed the feasibility of detection of explosive remnants at dozens metres away on different surfaces.

Afterwards the SEDUCE project was started up and was financed by CDTI within the framework of the CENIT programme for short-distance detection through LIBS and the Q-LIBS project, within the R+D Avanza programme for toxicity and chemical contamination detection in a chemical war scenario or in an industrial environment.

In the same line of investigation, Indra started up the LIBRA project, co financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Avanza I+D) to study the combination of LIBS technology with Raman, another type of optical spectroscopy.

Then, within the OPTIX programme the company decided to combine three different technologies to provide the security corps and forces with a more accurate tool to suit their requirements.

For more information: www.fp7-optix.eu