Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal

Unattended luggage or containers in public areas, such as railway stations and buildings, like airports, may trigger bomb disposal operations. While these instances frequently involve harmless forgotten bags, they can also signal the presence of unconventional explosives and incendiary devices, whic...

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Main Authors: Emre Unal, Matthias Muhr, Dominik Wild, Cathrin Theiss, Moritz Schumacher, Gerhard Holl, Peter Kaul
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Open Journal of Instrumentation and Measurement
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10879072/
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author Emre Unal
Matthias Muhr
Dominik Wild
Cathrin Theiss
Moritz Schumacher
Gerhard Holl
Peter Kaul
author_facet Emre Unal
Matthias Muhr
Dominik Wild
Cathrin Theiss
Moritz Schumacher
Gerhard Holl
Peter Kaul
author_sort Emre Unal
collection DOAJ
description Unattended luggage or containers in public areas, such as railway stations and buildings, like airports, may trigger bomb disposal operations. While these instances frequently involve harmless forgotten bags, they can also signal the presence of unconventional explosives and incendiary devices, which may include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNe) elements. Research aspects of this work include the development of a mobile laser cutting system (LCS) to enhance the capabilities of police bomb disposal units in neutralizing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and forensic evidence collection, thereby improving the safety of the public and defusing experts. This article presents the results of the development of a breakthrough detection system using an appropriate sensor technology. Parameters are determined by means of sensory monitoring to cut through various materials without interacting with the layer behind them. The investigation includes real cutting tests with the mobile LCS on various materials. For example, breakthrough times for polystyrene ranged from 75 to 250 s depending on geometry, while sensor accuracy in detecting cutting progress exceeded 90%. Additionally, explosive residues as low as 10 ng were successfully detected post-cutting, highlighting the system’s forensic compatibility. The results show that sensor-based breakthrough detection is feasible for the laser cutting of IED-relevant objects.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 2768-7236
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
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series IEEE Open Journal of Instrumentation and Measurement
spelling doaj-art-593de76fade44783ba8455ae67fe2a4b2025-08-20T03:02:15ZengIEEEIEEE Open Journal of Instrumentation and Measurement2768-72362025-01-01411010.1109/OJIM.2025.354012710879072Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device DisposalEmre Unal0https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4228-3418Matthias Muhr1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7365-8589Dominik Wild2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6474-985XCathrin Theiss3https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2909-5560Moritz Schumacher4https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3573-7989Gerhard Holl5https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8770-4013Peter Kaul6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8642-6253Institute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyInstitute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyInstitute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyInstitute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyInstitute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyInstitute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyInstitute for Safety and Security Research, University Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Rheinbach, GermanyUnattended luggage or containers in public areas, such as railway stations and buildings, like airports, may trigger bomb disposal operations. While these instances frequently involve harmless forgotten bags, they can also signal the presence of unconventional explosives and incendiary devices, which may include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNe) elements. Research aspects of this work include the development of a mobile laser cutting system (LCS) to enhance the capabilities of police bomb disposal units in neutralizing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and forensic evidence collection, thereby improving the safety of the public and defusing experts. This article presents the results of the development of a breakthrough detection system using an appropriate sensor technology. Parameters are determined by means of sensory monitoring to cut through various materials without interacting with the layer behind them. The investigation includes real cutting tests with the mobile LCS on various materials. For example, breakthrough times for polystyrene ranged from 75 to 250 s depending on geometry, while sensor accuracy in detecting cutting progress exceeded 90%. Additionally, explosive residues as low as 10 ng were successfully detected post-cutting, highlighting the system’s forensic compatibility. The results show that sensor-based breakthrough detection is feasible for the laser cutting of IED-relevant objects.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10879072/Explosivesimprovised explosive device (IED)laser cuttingopening of containerspreservation of evidencesensory monitoring
spellingShingle Emre Unal
Matthias Muhr
Dominik Wild
Cathrin Theiss
Moritz Schumacher
Gerhard Holl
Peter Kaul
Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal
IEEE Open Journal of Instrumentation and Measurement
Explosives
improvised explosive device (IED)
laser cutting
opening of containers
preservation of evidence
sensory monitoring
title Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal
title_full Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal
title_fullStr Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal
title_full_unstemmed Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal
title_short Sensory Monitoring for Breakthrough Detection in Mobile Laser Cutting of Various Materials in the Context of Improvised Explosive Device Disposal
title_sort sensory monitoring for breakthrough detection in mobile laser cutting of various materials in the context of improvised explosive device disposal
topic Explosives
improvised explosive device (IED)
laser cutting
opening of containers
preservation of evidence
sensory monitoring
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10879072/
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