CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
Center of Excellence for Awareness & Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT)
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Email: alert-info@ece.neu.edu
http://www.northeastern.edu/alert/
University of Rhode Island
Energetics Materials Research Lab
Pastore Chemical Lab
51 Lower College Road
Kingston, RI 02881
Email: joxley@chm.uri.edu
http://energetics.chm.uri.edu/
The Center of Excellence for Awareness & Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT) seeks to conduct transformational research, technology, and educational development to characterize, detect, mitigate, and respond to explosives-related threats facing the country and the world. ALERT’s researchers bring strengths in designing advanced sensors; detecting weakly defined targets from a standoff distance; signal processing and sensor integration; characterizing explosives; understanding improvised explosive device (IED) detonator signatures; shock physics; and material science.
ALERT’s research areas:
- Explosives Characterization
- Explosives Detection Sensors
- Explosives Detection Sensor Systems
- Blast Mitigation
ALERT Research Spotlight
Since the establishment of this Center of Excellence, ALERT has made significant contributions to the Nation's understanding of explosive-related threats. Some of these key advancements include:
Pedestrian Tracking for Video Surveillanceuses visual analytics to flag when someone in a dense crowd is behaving suspiciously. Developed with Siemens Corporate Research and the Massachusetts Army National Guard, the software is being transitioned from the lab to the street.
The Hyperspectral Image Analysis Toolbox (HIAT) provides a variety of ways to use software to analyze hyperspectral and multispectral datafor detecting traces of explosives on clothing and vehicles.
By simplifying the detection technology, Improved Modeling of Explosive Devices on the Human Body will allow a hidden explosive device to be detected more easily and more affordably.
Explosives Database: Developed by the University of Rhode Island, the Explosives Database is a comprehensive reference containing physical and spectral properties of a wide variety of energetic materials.
To learn more, visit http://www.northeastern.edu/alert/.