Vol. 51, No. 3        February 12, 1999

Arms control verification, sensors, and monitoring systems

As Sandia's major program to develop multiple chromatography laboratories in a hand-held unit -- the microchemlab-on-a-chip initiative -- enters it third year, many of the key pieces are coming together. For the gas phase analyses, we have developed tiny preconcentrators, a gas chromatograph on a chip, and coated arrays of surface acoustic wave detectors. For liquid phase analyses, we have developed electrokinetic separations techniques and an integrated micro-optical system. And a powerful simulation tool is now operational for exploring the use of multiple sensors to solve complex problems. (1100, 1700, 1800, 8100, 8300, 9600)

Sandia's Railcar Transportation Security Project, part of DOE's Material Protection, Control, and Accounting Program, has deployed rapid security upgrades to greatly enhance the security of special nuclear materials transported on Russia railroads. The upgrades emphasize rapidly deployable delay elements, enhanced radio communications, and intrusion detection and surveillance. The work represents a major accomplishment in partnering with diverse Russian ministries and user sites involved with the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy railcar fleet. (5300, 5400, 5800, 6300)

The Cooperative Monitoring Center expanded its program of regional security, nonproliferation, and arms control by conducting workshops and demonstrations at six foreign locations, including India, China, and Oman. These workshops brought together regional experts and policy makers to assess security options in South Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East. Technologies for physical security, remote sensing, on-site inspection, and environmental data acquisition were featured. Collaborators included regional organizations and the UN, under sponsorship of the State Department, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and DOE. (5300, 6200)

Sandia reached a major milestone in its collaboration with Arzamas-16, Russia's lead nuclear weapons design institute, to develop and demonstrate technologies to remotely monitor nuclear material storage facilities. Demonstration magazines located at Livermore, California, and Sarov, Russia, were fully instrumented with monitoring software and hardware. The FY99 goal of the collaboration is to demonstrate remote monitoring technologies involving nuclear material at US and Russian operational nuclear storage facilities. (5300, 6200, 2200, 5800)

We have completed an Advanced Exterior Sensors (AES) prototype for wide-area surveillance and early warning intrusion detection in security applications. The AES is a unique sensor providing 360-degree panoramic imagery in infrared and visible spectral bands. A third sensor, a microwave radar, complements the imaging sensors and is especially useful in poor weather. A data fusion step combines the results of three separate target trackers to reduce false and nuisance alarms. The AES detection ranges exceed the design goals. (5800)

Sandia supported the national and international effort to meet the monitoring goals of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). We delivered Release 2 of the DOE CTBT Knowledge Base to the US National Data Center in August. This Knowledge Base contains parameters and processing tools required to properly detect, locate, and identify nuclear explosions. We also developed the data authentication and key management system that will be used in the International Monitoring System. (5700, 6100, 6500, 5300, 5400)

A demonstration of nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting technologies was the flagship collaborative project of the China Lab-to-Lab program. The demonstration opened in July at a laboratory outside Beijing. Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia scientists worked with colleagues from the China Academy of Engineering Physics (the nuclear weapons design institute) and the China Institute of Atomic Energy to install and integrate equipment from both countries. The equipment continues in use for training Chinese scientists in techniques for safeguarding nuclear materials. (5300, 5800, 8100)

Under DOE's Material Protection, Control, and Accounting program commissioning ceremonies were held for security systems upgrades at 12 Russian facilities that secure and control nuclear materials. Sandia provided expertise to the facilities for the installation of enhanced protection, control, and accounting. Sandians were involved in upgrading physical protection systems such as motion detectors, vibration sensors, and cameras. Fresh fuel storage containers were installed, vibration sensors were placed on doors and walls, doors and windows were hardened, and sensors for detection and cameras for assessment were added. (5300, 5800, 6300)

The Cobra Brass Ground System collects and processes real-time, high-volume data from sensors flown aboard a satellite. Sandia developed this complex R&D payload and its associated command, control, and data processing system for the Air Force. We successfully reached a critical R&D operations capability milestone and have been reliably collecting unprecedented data for the user community. The project is viewed by the customer as a stunning success. Sandia will continue to provide technical support and processing enhancements throughout the system's expected five-year lifetime. (5700, 6500, 9300, 2300, 2600, 5900)

A major challenge in Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty monitoring is rapid analysis of data for specific regions around the world. Sandia developed an innovative technique that meets this challenge for generating and storing data that will enable better treaty monitoring. Developing the technique involved modification of existing algorithms and development of new ones that allow the facile storage and computational manipulation of these voluminous, complex data sets. The Sandia technique, developed in cooperation with other national laboratories, has been approved for use in the US National Data Center. (6500, 6100, 5700)

Sandia developed and delivered the next generation Integrated Correlation And Display System (ICADS) and Ground Nuclear detonation detection system Terminals (GNTs) to Air Force sponsors and users. The ICADS and GNT, satellite ground systems, are crucial elements of the US nuclear defense and treaty monitoring apparatus. These systems each contain more than one million lines of software code, operate under strict real-time reporting requirements, and provide advanced automated data analysis. The Air Force declared the systems operational this year, marking the culmination of these six-year projects. (5700, 6500, 2600)

A system used by Air Force analysts to perform event detection on satellite sensor data now also provides real-time characterization of fast transient events. A new discrimination algorithm identifies a very high percentage of false events, reducing analyst workload and improving detection sensitivity. Software automatically corrects for attenuation of event signals through the atmosphere and estimates the explosive yield of events. Within seconds of a detected event, the system provides the analyst with the information needed to release a timely report to the tactical military community. (6500, 5900, 5700, 2500)

The 3 Dimensional Video Motion Detection system uses multiple cameras to monitor, in real time, the 3D position, size, and orientation of moving objects. Applications have been found in security, robotics, and advanced human machine interfaces. Current customers include DOE and the US Air Force. Research is focused on extending the capabilities of the system to enable advanced, unobtrusive human/computer interfaces. The advanced interfaces could enable applications such as realistic virtual reality-based combat training exercises. (5800)

BioSimMER, a prototype virtual reality system for training responders in a biological terrorism scenario, is being developed for DoD. It permits two responders to train together. Training tasks include decontamination, sensor placement, and triage. Sandia agent transport codes were integrated to simulate concentrations and disposition of agents over time, providing exposure dosages and permitting dynamic simulation of sensor readings. The prototype system will be placed at the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center at Texas A&M for formal evaluations. (5900, 9100)

Last modified: February 12, 1999

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