Terrestrial nonimaging infrared MASINT

While infrared IMINT and MASINT operate in the same wavelengths, MASINT does not “take pictures” in the conventional sense, but it can validate IMINT pictures. Where an IR IMINT sensor would take a picture that fills a frame, the IR MASINT sensor gives a list, by coordinate, of IR wavelengths and energy. A classic example of validation would be analyzing the detailed optical spectrum of a green area in a photograph: is the green from natural plant life, or is it camouflage paint?

Infrared MASINT sensors are almost always coupled with other intelligence collection technologies, including IMINT (both in the visual and infrared wavelengths), geophysical MASINT, and other techniques that complement one another in reducing false detection.

Unattended sensing on land

The United States Army's AN/GSQ-187 Improved Remote Battlefield Sensor System (I-REMBASS) contains a Passive Infrared Sensor, DT-565/GSQ, which "detects tracked or wheeled vehicles and personnel. It also provides information on which to base a count of objects passing through its detection zone and reports their direction of travel relative to its location. The monitor uses two different [magnetic and passive infrared] sensors and their identification codes to determine direction of travel.

I-REMBASS capabilities include

Target type	Detection range
Personnel on foot	3-50 meters
Wheeled vehicles	15-250 meter
Tracked vehicles	25-350 meters

It is, however, considered an obsolescent system, due to large size, short battery life, and aging technology not readily updated. As an alternative, the New Zealand Defense Technology Agency (DTA) supported the development of a feasibility demonstration of unattended sensors, using, to the greatest extent, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies. The project, done at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Auckland, used commercial wireless transmission (IEEE 802.15) and the Freescale Zigbee as the microcontroller and radio transceiver.

In the prototype, passive infrared (PIR) sensors were paired with seismic sensor The selected PIR sensor does not image targets, but detects people from body temperature and vehicles from engine heat, with low power consumption and a wide-angle detection space. The major limitation is that they do not detect motion, which is necessary to categorize targets. Seismic sensing, however, does give motion information.

Littoral applications

Shallow-water operations require generalizing IR imaging to include a non-developmental Thermal Imaging Sensor System (TISS) to surface ships with a day/night, high-resolution, infrared (IR) and visual imaging, and laser range-finder capability to augment existing optical and radar sensors, especially against small boats and floating mines. Similar systems are now available in Army helicopters and armored fighting vehicles.