Architectures of sensor networks for biological and chemical agent detection and identification
First Claim
1. A network for detecting biological agents, the network comprising:
- a plurality of sensors for detecting agents in an area and generating a signal comprising a probability of accuracy;
a controller communicatively coupled to the sensors for receiving the signals from the sensors wherein the controller utilizes an evidence accrual method to combine probabilities of detection provided by the sensors to determine whether such agents are a threat with a greater probability than any individual sensor.
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Abstract
A sensor network provides the ability to detect, classify and identify a diverse range of agents over a large area, such as a geographical region or building. The network possesses speed of detection, sensitivity, and specificity for the diverse range of agents. Different functional level types of sensors are employed in the network to perform early warning, broadband detection and highly specific and sensitive detection. A high probability of detection with low probability of false alarm is provided by the processing of information provided from multiple sensors. A Bayesian net is utilized to combine probabilities from the multiple sensors in the network to reach a decision regarding the presence or absence of a threat. The network is field portable and capable of autonomous operation. It also is capable of providing automated output decisions.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A network for detecting biological agents, the network comprising:
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a plurality of sensors for detecting agents in an area and generating a signal comprising a probability of accuracy;
a controller communicatively coupled to the sensors for receiving the signals from the sensors wherein the controller utilizes an evidence accrual method to combine probabilities of detection provided by the sensors to determine whether such agents are a threat with a greater probability than any individual sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A network for detecting biological agents, the network comprising:
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a plurality of sensors for detecting agents in multiple areas and generating a signal comprising a probability of accuracy;
a plurality of integrating controllers communicatively coupled to selected groups of sensors protecting each area for receiving the signals from the sensors to determine whether such agents are a threat to a respective area with a greater probability than any individual sensor; and
an operating controller that receives information propagated to it from the integrating controllers and performs data fusion to determine a final decision for the entire area under protection wherein the operating controller comprises an evidence accrual method for performing the data fusion. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A network for detecting biological agents in a building, the network comprising:
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a plurality of different types of sensors for detecting biological agents in the building and generating a signal comprising a probability of detection of a biological agent, wherein the sensors are placed at different locations within the building based on the characteristics of the sensor;
a controller communicatively coupled to the sensors for receiving the signals from the sensors to determine whether an agent threat exists for the space. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method of detecting chemical and biological agent threats using a diverse network of sensors, the method comprising:
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collecting information from sensors comprising the conditional probability of detection of biological agents, wherein one or more controllers collects information from all the sensors in the diverse network;
combining the conditional probabilities of detection from individual sensors via the one or more controllers to increase the accuracy of the overall probability of the detection of a threat. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of designing a network for detecting threats from biological and chemical agents, the method comprising:
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determining a probability of detection for each of multiple sensors for a given threat;
generating an algorithm for decision fusion for each of multiple local groups of sensors; and
generating an algorithm for decision fusion for a combination of the multiple local groups of sensors. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification