No hiding place

A network of millimetre-wave radar sensors is being developed at

to protect potential terrorist targets such as airports and power stations.

Dr Robert Watson and Dr Peter Shepherd, from the university's department of electronic and electrical engineering, are developing the technology through the Real-value Automated landscape Scanner (ReVeALS) project. The team plans to use multiple sensors and a computer program to provide a security system that gives wider and more responsive CCTV coverage.

'It's a wireless sensor network,' said Watson. 'It uses technology that has evolved from automotive radar used in adaptive cruise control. Navtech, one of the project partners, makes millimetre radar systems for a variety of uses such as tracking the ground movement of aircraft at airports. We can use these sensors to steer CCTV cameras so they can survey and focus on areas showing suspicious activity.

'As radar only works in its line of sight you can get blind spots. But by using multiple sensors in a collaborative network these are removed. The system will also use artificial intelligence to learn from the environment and decide what could be considered a threat and what is normal.