Chemical incidents can be difficult to assess quickly and safely. A suspected hazard may be present, but its source, location and potential spread may not yet be understood.
Response teams need reliable information but gathering it can mean moving personnel closer to an environment where the risk is still unknown.
Vehicles and uncrewed platforms offer another way to deploy chemical detection. By carrying a detector towards a suspected threat, they can help teams gather information while allowing specialists to remain further away.
There are, however, several practical considerations. Successful integration is not simply a matter of mounting a detector onto a vehicle, robot or drone. The detector, platform, power supply, communications and sampling arrangement all need to work together.
Extending the reach of chemical detection
Chemical threat detectors are traditionally carried or worn by trained personnel. This remains an important part of chemical reconnaissance, particularly where a specialist needs to inspect an area, confirm a reading or carry out further assessment.
The same detection capability can, however, be deployed in different ways depending on the mission.
A detector may be mounted on a protected vehicle to provide continuous monitoring as the crew moves through an area. It may be integrated with an uncrewed ground vehicle to enter a building, industrial site or other location that may be unsafe or difficult to access. An aerial platform may be used to survey open ground, difficult terrain or areas that cannot easily be reached from the ground.
Each platform supports a different operational need
For vehicle applications, the detector can be integrated with the platform’s power and communications systems, while an optional remote sampling arrangement allows monitoring to continue without the crew having to operate the detector directly outside the vehicle.
A dedicated power and communications interface allows the detector to operate as part of the wider platform, rather than as a separate piece of equipment. This can support remote control, alarm output and continuous monitoring from a protected or remote position.
Uncrewed aerial systems may provide faster or wider coverage, although their suitability will depend on the environment, weather, payload and type of information required.
The aim is not to replace the specialist. It is to extend their reach and provide more information before personnel move further into danger.
More than mounting a detector
Vehicle and robotic integration involves more than attaching a detector to the outside of a platform.
The detector needs a secure mechanical interface, a reliable power supply and a way to send data back to the operator. It also needs to be positioned so that it can gather a representative sample.
For vehicle applications, this may include an external sampling arrangement that allows the detector to monitor the surrounding environment while the crew remains inside.
For an uncrewed ground vehicle, a dedicated interface may provide the power and communications needed to operate the detector remotely.
These elements are essential to making the system practical in use.
Different vehicles and robotic platforms have different layouts, power systems, communications arrangements and payload limits. Integration therefore needs to be designed around the individual platform and the mission.
There is unlikely to be one standard approach that works in every case.
Using established detection technology in new ways
A detector integrated with a vehicle or uncrewed platform still needs to meet the demands of a real operational environment.
It must be rugged, ready to use quickly and capable of operating for the required mission duration. It also needs to remain straightforward to operate and support, particularly where personnel may be working under pressure or wearing protective equipment.
Designed for demanding environments, the system is qualified against military environmental and EMC standards and can operate across a wide temperature range.
Established field detectors can provide a strong starting point.
Smiths Detection’s LCD 4 platform integration system is built around the LCD 4 detector and Power and Communications Adapter. The adapter provides power conditioning, communications and secure mounting, while the optional Auto Inlet Module supports remote and automated sampling. The system can operate from vehicle power, switch automatically to internal batteries when required and provide continuous monitoring and alerting.
LCD technology has also been integrated with different vehicle and robotic platforms through specific programmes.
This experience shows that the challenge is not only whether the detector can identify a chemical threat. The complete system must also gather the right information, communicate it reliably and remain practical for the operator.
Building a clearer picture
A detection alert is important, but it is usually only the beginning of the assessment.
Teams may also need to understand where a substance has come from, which areas could be affected and whether conditions are changing.
One reading provides one part of the picture. Several readings, taken from different locations, can provide a better understanding of what is happening.
A mobile platform may be used to investigate different parts of an area, return to a location where a result is uncertain or move towards an area where higher concentrations are being observed.
It does not necessarily need to complete a fixed route regardless of what it detects. The operator can redirect the platform as new information becomes available.
This does not require full autonomy. A trained specialist can remain in control and use each new reading to decide where the platform should go next.
In this way, one measurement can help inform the next action.
Connecting detection information
A detector reading becomes more useful when it reaches the right people and can be considered alongside other information.
Readings from a vehicle or uncrewed platform may be shared through communications networks and viewed alongside mapping, weather information, imagery or hazard modelling tools.
This can help teams understand not only that something has been detected, but where it was detected and how it may relate to the wider incident.
The platform then becomes more than a remote way of carrying a detector. It becomes another source of information within the response.
Communications, however, may not always be reliable. Buildings, terrain, distance or damage to infrastructure may affect the connection between the platform and the operator. Satellite navigation may also be disrupted or unavailable.
Systems therefore need to be designed with these limitations in mind. Operators need to understand what will happen if communications are lost, data is delayed or the platform has to continue with limited connectivity.
Choosing the right platform
There is no single platform or detector configuration that will suit every chemical incident.
A protected vehicle may be the right choice where crews need continuous monitoring while moving through an area. A tracked robot may be better suited to inspecting a building, confined space or suspicious object. A smaller aerial platform may be quick to deploy but may have more limited endurance or payload capacity.
The most advanced option is not always the most suitable.
Cost and recoverability must also be considered.
A platform entering a contaminated area may need to be inspected and decontaminated before it can be handled or used again. It may also be damaged, lose communications or become impossible to recover.
In some situations, a lower cost platform may be suitable where its loss is considered an acceptable operational risk. In others, a more robust and recoverable system may be needed to carry higher value sensing equipment.
The right approach will depend on the information required, the environment, the urgency of the task and the level of risk the organisation is prepared to accept.
Supporting the operator
Vehicles and uncrewed systems can help teams gather information from locations that may otherwise be difficult or dangerous to access.
They may provide an earlier indication of a hazard, help identify where more investigation is needed and reduce the need to send personnel forward simply to obtain an initial reading.
They do not remove the need for trained specialists.
Chemical incidents involve uncertainty, and sensor readings still need to be interpreted in context. Operators need to understand the capabilities and limitations of the detector, the conditions in which the measurement was taken and the confidence they can place in the result.
Training, maintenance and operating procedures are therefore as important as the technology itself.
A technically capable system will only provide operational value if personnel know how to deploy it, interpret the information and support it throughout its lifecycle.
Reducing risk to personnel
Integrating chemical threat detection into vehicles and uncrewed platforms provides another way to use established sensing technology.
The value does not lie simply in mounting a detector onto a vehicle, robot or drone. It lies in creating a complete system that can reach the right location, gather a meaningful sample, communicate the result and support the wider response.
The most effective approach will depend on the platform, operating environment and information required.
The objective, however, remains the same, to provide teams with earlier and better information while reducing unnecessary risk to personnel.
To find out more on how Smiths Detection can support your chemical threat detection requirements, please contact defence@smithsdetection.com.