People screening

Submillimetre wave imaging is a promising modality for future security screening applications due to its ability to see through clothing with high resolution. The EU FP7 CONSORTIS project (Concealed Object Stand-Off Real-Time Imaging for Security) developed a demonstrator system for next generation airport security screening which combines passive and active submillimetre wave imaging sensors. The Group led the team which developed the CONSORTIS radar subsystem: a 16-channel, 340 GHz FMCW radar which produces 3D maps of the subject with ~1 cm³ voxel resolution over a 1 m³ sense volume at multi-hertz frame rates. The radar combines a spare focal plane array (FPA) of 16 transceiver channels with state-of-the-art wide field of view quasi-optics and mechanical beam steering to achieve the wide field-of-view, high volumetric resolution imaging at frame rates of up to 10 Hz.