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Testing and Evaluation of Standoff Chemical Agent Detectors (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-5

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From page 1...
... This study issued a final report in October 2001 which stated that "using simulants instead of chemical agents provides an effective means for conducting outdoor operational testing of standoff detection instruments."2~3 Review of the report by the DoD raised concerns that a testing protocol, absent field testing with CWAs, might not adequately predict the response of these detectors to CWAs in battlefield and homeland defense applications. DTRA requested that the National Research Council undertake a study of the testing and evaluation of standoff detectors to provide an independent assessment of suitable test protocols that might be useful and reliable.
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From page 2...
... If NAS does not feel qualified to assess the severity component of such a risk assessment, NAS may provide the probability component and defer risk assessment to the DoD. This report is a narrow and very specific study of the testing and evaluation of infrared-type standoff detectors for CWAs in military situations.
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From page 3...
... Successful verification of this model using simulants in field measurements validates the transfer of the signal-processing model from the chamber to field and gives high confidence that a similar model for CWAs, if successful in chamber measurements, would transfer to the field without the necessity of field measurements using CWAs. Recommendation: A detailed test protocol for testing and evaluating passive standoff detectors is recommended that recognizes the importance of the highly variable background in which such detectors will be employed.
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From page 4...
... The rigorous test protocols developed by the committee provide the data necessary to develop algorithms that will be able to discriminate CWAs in the complex spectra acquired by a given instrument. If an instrument can achieve the demanding level of performance required by the applicable test protocol using simulants in both laboratory and field tests, there is a high degree of confidence that it would also detect CWAs in actual field conditions.
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From page 5...
... The added value of information from such tests, recognizing that they would be limited in number, would not provide a significant improvement in the confidence level about instrument performance. A detailed discussion of risk assessment and the value of information analysis is provided in Appendix C
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Key Terms

  • standoff detectors
  • field conditions
  • field testing
  • chemical warfare
  • standoff detection

  • test protocol
  • negative rates
  • standoff detector
  • background spectra
  • detection testing

  • detect cwas
  • chemical agent
  • homeland defense
  • model using
  • absorption bands

  • agent simulants
  • spectral features
  • false negative
  • using simulants
  • field measurements

  • warfare agents
  • homeland security
  • standoff cwa
  • proposed test
  • baseline plus

  • false positive
  • cwa detectors
  • algorithm development
  • successful verification
  • risk associated


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