North Carolina HBCU Evaluates Emerging Imaging Technology
By Ronald Roach
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Researchers at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) have begun evaluating an emerging imaging technology that should yield advances in homeland security and aviation safety. The project, funded by the NASA Glenn Research Center in Ohio, has allowed the passive millimeter-wave (PMMW) imager to be built and delivered to JCSU for research. The technology is expected to open the door to new ways of handling airport security, aircraft landing, space shuttle diagnostics and battlefield combat.
"The passive millimeter-wave imager is a camera that can detect objects through clothing, dense fog, walls and other visibly opaque materials using millimeter-wave radiation. One advantage is its ability to see through severe weather conditions," says Dr. Alan Lettington, professor emeritus at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and a world-renowned scientist in the field of PMMW imaging.
Currently, most air traffic control systems and surveillance cameras use infrared waves, which are significantly weakened in poor weather. An advantage of the PMMW imager is that objects are not subject to external radiation in order to obtain an image.
"This technology makes it possible to detect objects without being detected — that's why it's called passive," Lettington explains.
Four years ago, Dr. Magdy Attia, project director and JCSU department chair of computer science and engineering, collaborated with Lettington and the NASA Glenn Research Center to study and develop the PMMW imager. The camera was recently delivered to JCSU from the United Kingdom as a model for further research in the United States.
"Having this comprehensive engineering system at Johnson C. Smith provides an excellent training ground for our students to gain expertise in mm-wave technology, as well as opens research opportunities for faculty and other agencies," Attia says, noting that JCSU students will begin conducting research projects on the technology this fall.
