Dog’s Nose Program

The underwater sensor platform is derived from the Fido explosives vapor sensor, originally developed under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Dog s Nose Program. The vapor sensor, whose operation is discussed in Chapters 7 and 9 and in other publications [7-9], was developed for the task of landmine detection. The underwater adaptation of the sensor is very similar to the vapor sensor. In the underwater implementation of the sensor, thin films of polymers are deposited onto glass or sapphire substrates. The emission intensity of these films is monitored as water (rather than air) flows past the substrate. If the concentration of TNT in the water beings to rise, the polymer will exhibit a measurable reduction in fluorescence intensity. The reduction in emission intensity is proportional to the concentration of target analyte in the water. Because the sensor is small, lightweight, and consumes little power, it proved to be ideal for deployment on autonomous platforms. 

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