<title>Infrared polarization sensor for forward-looking mine detection</title>

Mine detection systems have traditionally used close-range sensors designed to detect mines within a few feet of the sensor. It would be advantageous to be able to detect mines from a greater distance, especially if the sensor is on a vehicle-mounted platform. Forward-looking cameras are a possible way to achieve this and to provide a 24 hour capability thermal imagery would seem most suited to this application. As many mine targets have flat surfaces, radiation reflected by the target is likely to have some degree of polarization which can be differentiated from the surrounding area, even when the target is partially obscured. This paper, based on work carried out by the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), outlines how the polarization of thermal radiation in a scene can be used to detect surface lain mine targets at longer ranges than traditional sensors and discusses how partially obscured targets may be detected using this system.