L-3 CyTerra has developed a handheld technology called EMMDAR that can rapidly ascertain the presence of personnel on the opposite side of walls and barriers. This technology promises to provide nearly instantaneous situational awareness for troops in urban environments as well as assist law enforcement officers during domestic searches.

MOTIVATION
Operations in urban environments, such as those ongoing in Afghanistan and Iraq, involve dangerous room-to-room searches for suspected terrorists. These searches are often conducted without the benefit of knowing if there are individuals in the rooms prior to entry. By providing troops and police officials with such knowledge in real-time, entry tactics can be tailored to minimize personal injury to both troops and suspects.

TECHNOLOGY
Developed from battlefield-tested land mine detector (AN/PSS-14) technology, the EMMDAR sensor retains the breakthrough capability to selectively filter out clutter thereby allowing it to identify biological entities with a high probability of detection. More importantly, this technology has demonstrated the ability to detect personnel at significant stand-off distances significantly increasing the applications of this technology.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

• A presentation by Dr. Edward J. Baranoski of the Special Projects Office at DARPA summarizes the use of radar in urban environments for the detection of personnel through walls.

• An article describing DARPA-sponsored through-wall programs Radar Scope and Visi Building