Integrated Radar Monitoring System (IRaMS)

The Integrated Radar Monitoring System (IRaMS) was developed by USACE Detroit District (LRE) to make nearshore observations around the Great Lakes and other coastal settings. IRaMS utilizes over-the-counter hardware, namely a marine X-band radar and a single board computer, coupled with software developed in-house to measure a range of physical processes common in the nearshore environment. The Office of Naval Research, Code 32 – Ocean Battlespace Sensing, has engaged LRE to develop and test the use of IRaMS to detect and map in real-time the presence of amphibious mines. LREs primary mission is to evaluate the use of IRaMS to locate PDM-1&2 type mines that are partially and fully submerged in the surf zone. The breaking wave conditions, common across most surf zones, generate bubbles and suspended sediment throughout the water column which poses significant challenges to traditional detection approaches. LRE is exploring the sensitivity of the Xband radar signal to measure subtle disturbances of the water surface above the mines. IRaMS has already been optimized to map the water surface in real-time for LRE’s coastal engineering needs – through measures of waves, currents, shoals. LRE is now leveraging these previously developed features to test the boundaries of mine detection such as radar antenna power and range, depth of mine submergence, and wave conditions. Next steps include exploiting our field observations to create algorithms that will autonomously identify and then display a map in real-time of all possible mine targets. LRE has also deployed semi-permanent IRaMS stations across all five of the Great Lakes in the past twelve months. Automated powering and data collection are triggered by user-defined thresholds from continuously updated regional wave forecasts. Compressed data files are pushed to the cloud at the conclusion of each collection. LRE anticipates a wealth of use from building a long time series of observations for engineering design to identifying real-time swimming and navigation hazards.

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