Biological material detection identification and monitoring: combining point and standoff sensors technologies

Detection, Identification and Monitoring (DIM) of biological material is critical to enhancing Situational Awareness (SA) in a timely manner, supporting decisions, and enabling the endangered force to take the most appropriate actions in a recognized CB environment. An optimum Bio DIM capability would include both point sensors to provide local monitoring and sampling for confirmatory ID of the material, and standoff sensors to provide wide-area monitoring from a distance, increasing available response time and enhancing SA. In June 2015, a Canadian team co-deployed a point (VPBio) and a standoff (BioSense) bio sensor during the international S/K Challenge II event, at Dugway Proving Ground (DPG), USA. The co-deployment of the point and standoff sensors allowed the assessment of their respective strengths and limitations with regards to Bio DIM and SA in a realistic CB environment. Moreover, the initial hypothesis stating the existence of valuable leverages between the two sensors in a context of Bio DIM was confirmed. Indeed, the spatial limitation of the point sensor was overcome with the wide area coverage of the standoff technology. In contrast, the sampling capability of the point sensor can allow confirmatory identification of the detected material. Additionally, in most scenarios, the combined results allowed an increase in detection confidence. In conclusion, the demonstration of valuable leverages between point and standoff sensors in a context of Bio DIM was made, confirming the mitigation effect of co-deploying these systems for bio surveillance.