Sensors Help Soldiers Detect Combat Threats
A UT Arlington engineer hopes to soon give soldiers X-ray vision. Sort of. Qilian Liang, professor of electrical engineering, has won two Department of Defense grants to develop a radar sensor network that will help soldiers detect potential threats on the battlefield that are obscured by walls or foliage. Current technology doesn鈥檛 link radar sensors in a network or allow for shared information in real time. In contrast, Dr. Liang鈥檚 system will provide troops with a web of information about large swaths of land, such as urban areas or shorelines. For example, the network could tell soldiers about an entire building, rather than just the area within line of sight. 鈥淚n an urban setting, manmade structures or foliage favor hidden threats because the soldier has a limited sensing capability,鈥� Liang says. 鈥淲e want to help those soldiers identify what it is they鈥檙e seeing through the network in the field. It鈥檚 very important they know who and where the threats are.鈥� The sensor network research could be adapted for domestic use as well. Liang envisions the system being used as a scanning device in airports or at large-scale public events鈥攖hink Super Bowl鈥攖o identify potential threats or find concealed weapons. Jonathan Bredow, chair of the , says Liang鈥檚 funding and publication records demonstrate that he is among the top international researchers in the emerging area of radar sensor networks. 鈥淗is breakthrough work will enable totally new ways of assessing and responding to security threats in complex environments, which are often of high impact and the most vulnerable,鈥� Bredow says. 鈥淭his will be a major boost to UT Arlington鈥檚 top-tier research mission.鈥�