Among the most useful physical techniques in remote sensing and geophysical characterization are the various forms of electromagnetic fields generated by natural or artificial (controlled) sources.  Traditionally, electromagnetic (EM) methods have comprised one of the four principle sensing technologies in applied geophysics and hidden target detection - the others being mechanical waves (acoustic & seismic methods), potential fields, and electro-optics. These EM techniques have become particularly useful for finding and characterizing buried, camouflaged, or otherwise hidden objects.  Targets of interest range from explosive hazards to environmental contaminants to high-value infrastructure.

Our team has worked over the past decade to develop new technologies that couple traditional electromagnetic methods with modern technologies such as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), controlled multi-dimensional/multi-static arrays, compact solid-state electronics, digital signal processing, and new parallel computational methods.  This has resulted in a new generation of electromagnetic sensors being developed and incorporated into military and commercial platforms and systems.  In particular, we are working to develop arrays of miniaturized receivers that exploit high resolution spatial and temporal information.  Recent reductions in size, weight, and power of these sensors has enabled new deployment modes and opportunities for improved sensitivity to targets of interest, but has also introduced new challenges associated with resolution-penetration tradeoffs, noise mitigation, mission configuration planning, and data processing.  Variations and enhancements of conventional low frequency EM systems such as those used in magnetometers, magnetic resonance imaging, metal detectors, and radar systems are investigated first through modeling and simulation as well as experimentation.  To deliver these technologies to challenging environments or applications we have integrated them with robotic systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and unmanned or unattended ground systems (UGS).  We have also had to address the implications associated with utilizing these combined sensor systems in working environments such that detection probabilities and false alarm mitigation are optimized.  Applications include configurations for undersea and underground threat detection - particularly those associated with placed or mobile explosives and compact metallic targets such as munitions, improvised threat devices, gas and oil pipelines, submarines, and other hazardous objects.