BARNARD MICROSYSTEMS LIMITED

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introduction

Grand Challenge

The kick-off meeting at Copehill Down signaled the official start of the preparations for the MoD Grand Challenge

• Our broad objectives
• Lessons learnt so far
• Our Strategy

Our aim is to keep our system as simple, as cost effective and as lightweight as possible. We also aim to enable the widest use of the proposed technology. The sensor system will be programmed to fly autonomously and gather the required imaging data, with the data being relayed back to the laptop via a standard WLAN connection operating at 2.4 GHz. We plan to use ultrasonic ranging systems to enable the sensor system  to avoid colliding with an obstacle. Maximum use will be made of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf components and systems.

The excellent thing for us is that we can apply technologies we have developed for use in oil and gas pipeline monitoring. Consequently, we are likely to  enhance our detection technology in the light of developments we make in our pipeline monitoring activities, in areas such as the use  of scanning LIDAR to detect wires and the use of five CCD imagers on the air vehicle to build up a 3D, time dependent, image of the area under the aircraft. We plan to develop a solution which is:

• Realistic: use human threat recognition aided by computer detection of changes
• Cost effective: use commercial parts where possible, use as few different  types of UAV as is practical
• Lightweight (see graph below showing the increasing load of the infantry soldier)
• Robust: the sensor vehicle must be easily transported
• Easy to use
• Scalable, in that every soldier on patrol could carry a sensor vehicle
• Can be relatively quickly introduced to real world use

Think of the soldier carrying the new system! He / she already has enough to carry.

From http://www.emrsdtc.com/downloads/pdf/bidders_conference_v6-1.pdf

Interesting slide on the increasing load of the infantry soldier from the presentation " LtColIanThompson_Urban_Operations_Further_Intro.ppt" on the MoD web site.

Consequently,although there is much mention of the automated detection of threats, we submit what we believe to be a better system than is currently used, albeit short of the end goal of fully automated threat detection. We are not experts in computer recognition of snipers, IEDs, heavy guns on vehicles, or, for that matter, of people in military style clothing.

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Some of our strategies will need to be revised following the very instructive recent visit to Copehill Down for the kick-off meeting. Specific issues which we are grappling with, and which may cause us to revise our strategy, include:

• sniper detection is more difficult than we envisaged. One of our key strategies was to detect changes over time. However, a  professional sniper will remain motionless in the back of a darkened room for a long period of time, waiting for his / her target to appear. We will be developing an extension to our basic strategy to detect the motionless sniper. In the following photographs taken at Copehill Down, we have ringed in orange possible sniper locations.

• thin wires criss-cross various parts of Copehill Down, and need to be detected and avoided

Unfortunately, low hanging wires are a problem in real life, as shown in this photograph from " LtColIanThompson_Urban_Operations_Further_Intro.ppt" on the MoD web site.

• Disguised Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)

• Trees and general foliage could complicate target detection

• The " Operations Base" has a rough stone surface, no place for the take off and landing of a small UAV

How would you launch your Unmanned Vehicle from here? From " MajorGilesTimms_Fighting_in_Urban_Environment.ppt" document on the MoD web site

And then it might rain, making an Unmanned Ground Vehicle approach very difficult. From " LtColIanThompson_Urban_Operations_Further_Intro.ppt" on the MoD web site

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• As a consequence of our very useful and most interesting visit to Copehill Down Village for the kick off of the MoD Grand Challenge, we consider our strategy to need improving  to increase the probability of detecting the various targets.
• We will be dividing our work into four main tasks, and will issue a report to the MoD Grand Challenge Project Manager at the end of each three month task.

• OK: so we cannot publicly disclose all we plan to do, hence the use of the xxx and yyy terminology. Of course, the Grand Challenge Project Manager will be fully informed of our activities.
• However, we will be performing  more up-front  feasibility work to identify robust detection strategies to cope with our findings at Copehill Down. We plan to update this site with our findings as they are made.
• Our current plan is to use two or more multi-rotor (for example, a quadrotor) helicopters in different roles to gather information on the area to be surveyed. We are considering extending our approach to include additional Unmanned Aircraft and will be testing new  concepts and strategies. We plan to report on the outcome of our testing as soon as we have results.

Back in the lab, design and development work has started in earnest...

The above photograph was taken using a compact camera on a quadrotor made by MicroDrones of Germany ( see http://www.microdrones.com/pictures/crossroad.jpg for details)

and this magnification of the lower right hand side of the image shows the detail that can be derived from such a system.

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© Barnard Microsystems Limited 2006 - 2008