Claims
- 1. Sensor system for monitoring for the presence of contamination with one or more contaminating biological, chemical and/or radioactive agents on a terrain surface, and creating a contamination map thereof, comprising:
(a) a plurality of sensor pods, comprising,
a detector unit for detection of the contaminating agent and outputting contaminating agent data, a processor for processing the contaminating agent data, a geopositioning means for determining the position of the sensor, and a transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data; and (b) an airborne dispensing portion for dispensing the plurality of sensor pod to the terrain surface, and (c) an airborne monitoring portion for receiving the transmitted contamination agent data and position data from the plurality of sensors.
- 2. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein each sensor has an identification code which is transmitted by the transmitter to the airborne monitoring system.
- 3. The sensor system of claim 1, further comprising a ground station, and wherein the airborne monitoring portion further comprises a transmitter for transmitting data from the airborne platform to the ground station, the ground station compiling a detailed map of the terrain surface in terms of its contamination characteristics.
- 4. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the sensor pod further comprises descent slowing means.
- 5. The sensor system of claim 4, wherein the descent slowing means comprises an airfoil.
- 6. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the sensor pod further comprises an activation switch for activating the sensor pod when the sensor pod reaches the terrain surface.
- 7. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the detector unit comprises a chemical reagent which is released from the sensor pod and reacts with contamination at the terrain surface to form a reactant, and a spectral analysis unit which quantifies the reactant and the level of contamination measured.
- 8. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the detector unit comprises a radiation detector unit.
- 9. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the monitoring system comprises at least one LED.
- 10. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the monitoring system comprises at least one RF antenna on the sensor pod.
- 11. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the airborne dispensing portion and the airborne monitoring portion are self contained and detachably attachable to an aircraft.
- 12. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the airborne dispensing portion and the airborne monitoring portion are separate, self contained and detachably attachable units carried on different aircraft.
- 13. The sensor system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor pods is a master sensor pod which includes a RF receiver, and at least one of the plurality of sensor pods is a slave sensor pod which includes a RF transmitter for transmitting the at least one slave sensor pod's identification code, the slave sensor pod's contamination agent data, and a time stamp of the slave sensor, which master sensor pod then uplinks the data from the slave pod and its own data to the airborne monitoring system.
- 14. The sensor system of claim 13, wherein at master sensor pod further includes a multilateration computer to compute the at least one slave pod's distance from the master pod.
- 15. The sensor system of claim 1, wherein the geopositioning means comprises a global positioning system.
- 16. The sensor system of claim 13, wherein the geopositioning means comprises the data transmitted to the airborne platform, which airborne platform uses an optical or RF directional seeker to determine the relative geoposition of the master sensor.
- 17. Sensor system for monitoring for the presence of contamination with one or more contaminating biological, chemical and/or radioactive agents on a terrain surface, and creating a contamination map thereof, comprising:
(a) a plurality of sensor pods, comprising,
an pod housing, descent slowing means on the pod housing, a detector unit for detection of the contaminating agent and outputting contaminating agent data, a processor for processing the contaminating agent data, a geopositioning means for determining the position of the sensor, and a transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data; (b) a ground station; (c) an airborne dispensing portion for dispensing the plurality of sensor pod to the terrain surface, and (d) an airborne monitoring portion for receiving the transmitted contamination agent data and position data from the plurality of sensors, and a transmitter for transmitting the contamination agent data and position data from the plurality of sensors to the ground station.
- 18. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the sensor pod further comprises an activation switch for activating the sensor pod when the sensor pod reaches the terrain surface.
- 19. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the detector unit comprises a chemical reagent which is released from the sensor pod and reacts with contamination at the terrain surface to form a reactant, and a spectral analysis unit which quantifies the reactant and the level of contamination measured.
- 20. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the detector unit comprises a radiation detector unit.
- 21. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the monitoring system comprises at least one LED on the sensor pod.
- 22. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the monitoring system comprises at least one RF antenna on the sensor pod.
- 23. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the airborne dispensing portion and the airborne monitoring portion are self contained and detachably attachable to an aircraft.
- 24. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein the airborne dispensing portion and the airborne monitoring portion are separate, self contained and detachably attachable units carried on different aircraft.
- 25. A sensor pod for monitoring for the presence of contamination with one or more contaminating biological, chemical and/or radioactive agents on a terrain surface, and creating a contamination map thereof, comprising:
a pod housing; descent slowing means on the pod housing; a detector unit for detection of the contaminating agent and outputting contaminating agent data; a processor for processing the contaminating agent data; a geopositioning means for determining the position of the sensor; and a transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data.
- 26. The sensor pod of claim 25, wherein the sensor pod further comprises an activation switch for activating the sensor pod when the sensor pod reaches the terrain surface.
- 27. The sensor pod of claim 25, wherein the detector unit comprises a chemical reagent which is released from the sensor pod and reacts with contamination at the terrain surface to form a reactant, and a spectral analysis unit which quantifies the reactant and the level of contamination measured.
- 28. The sensor pod of claim 25, wherein the detector unit comprises a radiation detector unit.
- 29. The sensor pod of claim 25, wherein the transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the monitoring system comprises at least one LED on the sensor pod visible from the pod housing.
- 30. The sensor pod of claim 25, wherein the transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the monitoring system comprises at least one RF antenna.
- 31. A method for monitoring for the presence of contamination with one or more contaminating biological, chemical and/or radioactive agents on a terrain surface, and creating a contamination map thereof, comprising:
(a) providing a plurality of sensor pods, comprising,
a detector unit for detection of the contaminating agent and outputting contaminating agent data, a processor for processing the contaminating agent data, a geopositioning means for determining the position of the sensor, and a transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data; (b) providing an airborne dispensing for dispensing the plurality of sensor pod; (c) providing an airborne monitoring portion for receiving the transmitted contamination agent data and position data from the plurality of sensors and for relaying such data; and (d) providing a ground station for collection of the data from the airborne monitoring portion and for compiling a detailed map of the terrain surface in terms of its contamination characteristics.
- 32. The sensor system of claim 31, wherein the airborne dispensing portion and the airborne monitoring portion are integrated and are detachably attachable to an aircraft.
- 33. The sensor system of claim 31, wherein the airborne dispensing portion and the airborne monitoring portion are separate and are adapted for carrying on different aircraft.
- 34. Sensor system for monitoring a site for images, sounds and/or vibrations, comprising:
(a) a plurality of sensor pods, comprising,
a monitoring unit for monitoring of images, sounds and/or vibrations, and outputting monitored data, a processor for processing the monitored data, and a transmitter for transmitting monitored data; and (b) an airborne monitoring portion for receiving the transmitted monitoring data from the plurality of sensor pods.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This utility patent application is based upon provisional patent application No. 60/383,082, filed May 24, 2002, with the same title “GEOPOSITIONABLE EXPENDABLE SENSORS AND THE USE THEREFOR FOR MONITORING SURFACE CONDITIONS.”
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60383082 |
May 2002 |
US |