Project employs sensors, AR to detect munitions at sea
Marie Donlon | June 03, 2021A collective of German companies and research institutes, including Fraunhofer IGD, aims to help divers safely recover wartime munitions discarded off the coast of Germany following World War I and World War II.
The TOxAR project combines sensors that notify divers salvaging wartime munitions dumped into the North and Baltic seas that they are close to dangerous levels of TNT and other hazardous materials, and an alarm system featuring augmented reality (AR) displays in the wearer's goggles.
Source: Fraunhofer IGD
Chemical warfare agents housed in metal shell casings off the coast of Germany have been corroding for several decades while submerged in salt water. As such, the project employs new sensors capable of detecting and measuring for warfare reactants including TNT, arsenic degradation products and mustard gas, among others.
Eventually, the goal is for divers conducting munitions salvaging missions to scan underwater using sensor lances to detect hazardous materials associated with munitions and communicating those findings via communication nodes to divers. As divers begin removing underwater contaminants, thereby releasing plumes of dangerous materials, analysis via the sensor lances can determine if a diver is in a potentially dangerous location.
To accomplish this, the project participants suggest that the system would require a cable-free digital acoustic communication between the diver and lance, as well as the ship or land-based control or monitoring team to ensure uninterrupted communication. Additionally, the AR diving goggles integrated into the system, according to Fraunhofer IGD, could enable divers to rapidly detect contaminants in the surrounding water while the sensor system assesses the sediment, instantly alerting divers to possible dangers, thereby reducing the threat of harm.