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Moving Object Scanning Apparatus and Method

This patent originates from a Capital Modernisation Fund multidisciplinary project conducted whilst I was employed by QinetiQ as a Senior Fellow and the technical leader of the passive millimetre wave imaging team. It bought together, visible, infrared, a W-band (70-110GHz) passive millimetre wave imager and image processing for the detection of illegal immigrants and contraband in PVC sided Lorries. The patent addresses a method to build a composite image from these sensors whilst the vehicle is driving past. This was the first time that W-band imagery of moving vehicles was demonstrated and combined with other sensors to give improved detection and the reduction of false alarms whilst identify the vehicle through number plate recognition.

The system was designed with two passive millimetre wave imagers one at the side and one above the lorry. In this prototype only one imager was deployed and it was the primary sensor for seeing through the PVC side or fibreglass top of the lorries. The imager generated images by using a linescan with the vehicle motion providing scanning in the orthogonal direction. By carefully monitoring of the lorries speed and position using a Doppler radar the image can be accurately reconstructed.

The biggest strength of this project was not the individual sensors but the combination of the data from all the sensors in real time providing the operator with a much greater chance of spotting illegal immigrants or contraband. It is very challenging to combine imagery from sensors in different positions operating in different wavebands and at different frame rates.

Furthermore the methodology developed is relevant to any situation were an object moves through an array of sensors and could be applied for instance to scanning high value items on a production line although a different array sensor would be deployed.