What are Appropriate Border Surveillance Technologies?

David Horner, PhD

US Army Corps of Engineers

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ERDC Border Security Surveillance S&T Activities

David Horner, PhDTechnical Director, Military Engineering Program

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70% US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Headquarters - Vicksburg, MS

Field Offices

ERDC R&D Labs

Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) Environmental Laboratory (EL) Geotechnical & Structures Laboratory (GSL) Information Technology Laboratory (ITL)

Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) – Champaign, IL

Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) - Hanover, NH

Geospacial Research Laboratory (GRL, formerly TEC) – Alexandria, VA

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Engineer Research and Development Center Research Laboratories of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

2000 Employees$1.6B Budget

Major Missions Civil Works

Warfighter SupportMilitary Installations

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Engineer Research & Development Center

Interdisciplinary laboratory teams work together to undertake R&D in four Business Areas:

Civil Works &Water Resources

Military Engineering

Geospatial Research & Engineering

Environmental Quality & Installations

ERDC Technologies for Border Security Surveillance

Unclassified, High Resolution, Three Dimensional Terrain Data (HR3D-TD) for a

Standard and Sharable Geospatial Foundation

Ground-Based Non-Line of Sight Sensors

FOUNDATION DATA REACH BACK SUPPORT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION ENABLE HORIZONTAL / VERTICAL

EXCHANGE 1

US Army Corps of EngineersBUILDING STRONG®

Mr. Michael A. HarperDirector, Tactical Source Directorate

Unclassified, High Resolution, Three Dimensional Terrain Data (HR3D-TD) for a

Standard and Sharable Geospatial Foundation

WHAT IS HR3D?High Resolution, Color, Unclassified Imagery and Elevation Data

that can be shared among interagency and international partners for both military and civilian applications

Digital Elevation Model

Point Cloud

IMU

RollLIDAR

CAMERA

Imagery

GPS SATELLITE

GPS

Z

Y

X

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HIGH RESOLUTION 3D DATA COLLECTIONPlatforms / Sensors Program

Description

Buckeye Data

Processed to individual image frames with web-based index, and then to ortho-rectified mosaics – used for mission planning/rehearsal and feature identification

LIDAR Elevation Data-1m Processed to point cloud data and then to gridded raster data– used for 3D visualization, LOS, feature extraction and control of imagery mosaics

Color Imagery 2-10cm

• Provides 2-10cm geo-registered, ortho-rectified, color imagery and 1m resolution elevation data, all unclassified

• Rapidly collects, processes and disseminates high-resolution, high-accuracy geospatial data in support of operations and intelligence

• Co-collection of imagery and elevation data improves situational awareness and provides precision data for mission planning, operations and a foundation data layer for other sensors and systems

• Current sensors: 60mp color EO camera and OPTECH LIDAR sensors

• BuckEye data is used extensively by Soldiers at all levels, all services and the IC

Status• Operated in OIF from 2004-2010; collected over 85,000 km2

of data primarily over urban areas and MSRs / ASRs• Operating in OEF since 2006; collected over 460,000 km2

Optech Gemini LIDAR Aeroptic EO Mapping CameraOptech Orion LIDAR

• CONUS collects include several military bases and training areas

• Approved Army Acquisition Program Candidate• Developing next generation Lidar sensor to increase

collection efficiency

King Air B100Arrow UAS

8FOUNDATION DATA REACH BACK SUPPORT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION ENABLE HORIZONTAL / VERTICAL EXCHANGE

Accurate Vertical Obstruction Data

3D Extracted Features Detailed LOS based on real terrain

Detailed Situational Awareness Detailed Mission Analysis

3D Visualization

HR3D TERRAIN DATA ENABLES

An accurate and precise foundation for all sensor and operations data

Soldiers to Visualize and Understand the Terrain

9FOUNDATION DATA REACH BACK SUPPORT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION ENABLE HORIZONTAL / VERTICAL EXCHANGE

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Situational Awareness / Understanding Terrain

• Enables Accuracy and Precision• Reduces Casualties / Collateral Damage• Provides Required Foundation Data

– Mission Command Systems– Infrastructure Development / Real Estate

• Unique Partnering Opportunity thru Mapping– Enables Access / Sharing– Connects to Government and Institutions– Aids in Stability and Establishment of Governance– Has Value to Partner Nations

HR3D is the basis for developing a multi-purpose spatial data infrastructure that can aid countries in their development, internal security, and preparedness for

humanitarian assistance and disaster response scenarios

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FOUNDATION DATA REACH BACK SUPPORT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION ENABLE HORIZONTAL / VERTICAL EXCHANGE

Supports host nation security / strengthens defense Supports developmentPromotes regional stability Advances U.S. strategic objectivesImproves crisis response and theater security cooperation

Helps close the geospatial data gap•

Benefits of HR3D for Global Engagement

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Sensor Development for Provide persistent surveillance capability for perimeter defense and entry control point non-line of sight sensing

•Integrated broadband acoustic (0.5 Hz infrasound to 100,000 Hz audible range) point sensor arrays for battlespace awareness at ranges up to 150 km; seismic linear sensors for tagging, tracking, and localization of threats to small base

• Optimized sensor suite for deployment in austere environments: Smaller footprint, lightweight, rugged, limited comms area, easier installation

• Water installation techniques for personal watercraft detection

Broadband MultimodeIntrusion Detection Logistics Reduction

Thin String TTPTraining

Sensor-environment

coupling

Seismic Linear

• Single signal processing system for all modalities to pass that information to other sensors and mission command systems in limited comms area

Combined Signal Processing

Integrated Processing and Localization

Effects of Terrain and Weather

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Remote Standoff Assessment

Infrasound signatures can provide complementary, but previously unexploited, information to military and civilians.

Pioneering use of infrasound signatures to monitor structures of interest such as bridges and dams for damage or capacity.

Border Security - Monitoring of vehicle/personnel mobility, cultural activities, and industrial sources

WHAT IS IT?Low frequency acoustics ( .01 – 20 Hz) that can propagate tactical distances without degrading the source signature Sources: • Subsurface/

surface/airborne explosions

• Terrestrial and airborne vehicles

• Missiles, Rockets, RPGs

• Urban Noise• Structures

20-200 km range

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Border Security: Ultra-Light Air Craft Intrusion

Electric powered ultra-light aircraft provide reduced potential for audio compromise; nearly undetectable/radar invisible.

UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Spectrogram Signature at Sensor 1

Spectrogram Signature at Sensor 2

Low frequency information indicates that infrasound would detect flyovers from greater distances, both in altitude and in lateral distance.

Innovative solutions for a safer, better worldBUILDING STRONG®

Rapid Reaction Tunnel Detection

Our Response: Develop and transition a capability to detect, classify, exploit, and remediate clandestine, purpose-built tunnels illegally entering the U.S. and foreign battlefields

200 cross-border tunnels found since 1990

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Rapid Reaction Tunnel Detection

Products:• Technologies to detect and localize tunnels

Border Tunneling Activity Detection

System (BTADS) – Point/Linear Active Seismic Imaging (ASI) System Electromagnetic Imaging (EMI) System Robotic Insertion/Mapping/Sensing R2TD Common Operating Picture

(COP) • CONOPS and TTPs for employment

Purpose:

Develop an enduring system of systems

capability to detect, precisely locate, exploit

clandestine, purpose-built tunnels illegally

entering the US and on AORs of interest to

DoD

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Optimization of Sensor Placement & Performance

ERDCs Environmental Awareness for Sensor and Emitter Employment (EASEE) project is an advanced software framework for calculating terrain and weather impacts on multimodal signal emission, propagation, sensing, and processing.

EASEE integrates highly realistic physics and statistical modeling methodologies for many signal modalities (acoustic, seismic, EO/IR, radar, RF, chemical/biological, …) through a flexible, reusable, object-oriented software design (primarily Java).

EASEE provides the capability to determine the optimal placement of environmental sensors based on the characteristics of the sensor(s) and their interaction with the terrain and atmosphere.

UNCLASSIFIED // FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

x (m)

y (

m)

-2000 -1000 0 1000 2000

-2000

-1500

-1000

-500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

dB

-160

-140

-120

-100

-80

-60

Acoustic &

Seismic

Chem/Bio

LOS and high-resolution terrain

Optimized sensor selection and

placement

RF

Infrared

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Develop high fidelity models to predict and improve performance of current and future force sensor systems for surface and near-surface target detection within

complex geo-environmental settings.

Sensor Response

Colored by LADAR

Geometric representations of vegetation that is indigenous to a specific geo-environment

Target Representations

Simulated Linear Sensor Response

Tunnel Detection

Environmental Effects on Sensor Performance

Integrated Modeling Environment

Algorithm Development/Sensor Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures

Terrain & Atmospheric Physics

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Contact Information

Dr. David Horner(601) 634-2481

David.A.Horner@usace.army.mil