Covert surveillance using multi-modality sensing
First Claim
1. A system for detecting concealed threats in an object by simultaneously performing active and passive radiation detection, the system comprising:
- an X-ray source with a modulating device to produce a pencil beam of radiation for scanning the object, said modulating device configured to block the pencil beam at regular intervals;
a distance sensor adapted to emit a beam of light and adapted to determine a plurality of times for said light to scatter off a plurality of surfaces of said object and return to said sensor, wherein said plurality of times are indicative of a plurality of distances from said distance sensor to said plurality of surfaces;
a detector module for generating signals indicative of radiation backscattered by the object when the object is scanned with the pencil beam of radiation and for generating signals indicative of passive radiation that is emitted from threats within said object when the pencil beam of radiation is blocked, wherein said detector module comprises at least one detector; and
a controller configured to cause said system to measure backscattered radiation only when the x-ray pencil beam is on, and to measure only passive radiation when the x-ray pencil beam is blocked, wherein said controller further uses the plurality of distances to implement an adaptive region based averaging method such that a size of each region is a function of a distance to the X-ray source thereby resulting in signals from regions far from the X-ray source being averaged over a larger region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present specification discloses a covert mobile inspection vehicle with a backscatter X-ray scanning system that has an X-ray source and detectors for obtaining a radiographic image of an object outside the vehicle. The system is configured to also simultaneously detect passive radiation. The systems preferably include at least one sensor for determining a distance from at least one of the detectors to points on the surface of the object being scanned, a processor for processing the obtained radiographic image by using the determined distance of the object to obtain an atomic number of each material contained in the object, and one or more sensors to obtain surveillance data from a predefined area surrounding the vehicle.
98 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for detecting concealed threats in an object by simultaneously performing active and passive radiation detection, the system comprising:
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an X-ray source with a modulating device to produce a pencil beam of radiation for scanning the object, said modulating device configured to block the pencil beam at regular intervals; a distance sensor adapted to emit a beam of light and adapted to determine a plurality of times for said light to scatter off a plurality of surfaces of said object and return to said sensor, wherein said plurality of times are indicative of a plurality of distances from said distance sensor to said plurality of surfaces; a detector module for generating signals indicative of radiation backscattered by the object when the object is scanned with the pencil beam of radiation and for generating signals indicative of passive radiation that is emitted from threats within said object when the pencil beam of radiation is blocked, wherein said detector module comprises at least one detector; and a controller configured to cause said system to measure backscattered radiation only when the x-ray pencil beam is on, and to measure only passive radiation when the x-ray pencil beam is blocked, wherein said controller further uses the plurality of distances to implement an adaptive region based averaging method such that a size of each region is a function of a distance to the X-ray source thereby resulting in signals from regions far from the X-ray source being averaged over a larger region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for detecting concealed threats in an object by simultaneously performing active and passive radiation detection, the system comprising:
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an X-ray source with a modulating device to produce a pencil beam of radiation for scanning the object; a distance sensor adapted to generate a plurality of distances from said distance sensor to portions of said object; a detector module comprising an X-ray detector for detecting radiation backscattered by the object when scanned with the pencil beam and generating backscatter signals indicative thereof; a passive radiation detector for detecting radiation emitted from threats inside said object when the pencil beam is switched off and generating passive radiation threat signals indicative thereof; and a controller for switching the X-ray source on and off at regular intervals and, wherein said controller further uses the plurality of distances to implement an adaptive region based averaging method such that a size of each region is a function of a distance to the X-ray source thereby resulting in signals from regions further from the X-ray source being averaged over a larger region. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for detecting concealed threats in an object by simultaneously performing active and passive radiation detection, the method comprising:
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modulating an X-ray source to produce a pencil beam of radiation for scanning the object, such that the pencil beam is blocked at regular intervals; measuring distances to a plurality of surfaces of said object; detecting radiation backscattered by the object when scanned with the pencil beam; detecting passive radiation emitted from threats inside said object when the pencil beam is blocked; and using a filter to implement an adaptive region based averaging method using said distances such that a size of each region is a function of a distance to the X-ray source thereby resulting in signals from regions far from the X-ray source being averaged over a larger region. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification