Mirage Systems Inc. develops state-of-the-art technologies for stand-off 3D Underground Detection and Imaging.

For the United States military, the Mirage GPSAR system is useful for tactical demining, and environmental cleanup particularly under Base-Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and Formerly Used Defense sites (FUD) programs. The key benefit of this solution is that it can effectively characterize thousands of acres per day.  

The Mirage Systems' GPSAR solution is capable of detecting unexploded ordinance (UXO), landmines, or utilities while operating from a standoff position. This system delivers true 3D imagery of the subsurface and provides location of detected targets to within a fraction of a meter.

The current iteration of the technology was originally demonstrated at Mirage Systems' Sonora, CA test site for the U. S. Department of Energy, and subsequently for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at Sonora and an Army site. Most recently, Mirage tested their GPR DCS/901 System for the U. S. Army, Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) against representative minefields.

Advantages of the Mirage System Solution

GPSAR mounted on a helicopter, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or an ultra light aircraft would allow:

Significant Cost Reduction and Increased Precision in Location of Targets

Increasing land coverage in orders of magnitude over conventional methods which typically covers about one acre surveyed per person per day. This is especially important for accessing terrains that are not navigable by land.

Minimally Invasive Operations

The standoff GPSAR and Optical Remote Sensor (ORS) technologies are inherently non-invasive. The minimum operating elevation is about 10 meters.

Environmentally Considerate

An airborne GPSAR solution protects fragile land topography avoiding damage to vegetation and landmarks and intrusion on cultural or religious sites.

Increased Safety in Operations

By using an airborne GPSAR solution with an EO/IR sensor, personnel can be protected in environmentally or chemically unfriendly locations and from hazards such as those under light foliage cover, around hazardous waste dumps, and in landmine and UXO fields. Additional unseen hazards are mapped from the images.