Agency: CSA, OCE, DRDC
Period of Performance: 2009 - 2012
Completed at: UofT, WLU, ESI, Inc., P&P Optica, Inc.

This work was performed in parts through the following projects: Synergistic Photonic Sensory Platform (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto + Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) + Engineering Services Inc. (ESI)), Micro-Rover Platform with Tooling Arm (ESI for Canadian Space Agency, Oxygen laser sensor for diving equipment (Defence Research and Development Canada -Toronto), and Multifunctional Spectroscopy Laser (OCE + P&P Optica, Inc.).

In these projects basic principles of the design and implementation of a portable, multi-functional scientific instrument, operating from a robotic reconnaissance mobile platform have been developed. The current version of the instrument includes a multi-gas laser sensor, multifunctional spectrometer, isotopes identifier, cameras, and rangefinder. An additional set of sensors monitors temperature, pressure, humidity, and background radiation. All components are installed on a mini-robotic platform, which provides data acquisition, processing, and transmittance. The design focuses on the development of calibration-free, reliable, low power-consumption devices. To create a highly survivable, accurate, and reliable instrument, a concept of an inhomogeneous sensory network has been developed. Such a network combines non-identical sensors and provides cross-use of information received from different sensors to describe environmental conditions, to choose appropriate algorithms of data processing, and to achieve high accuracy gas-concentration measurements. New detailed analyses of absorption spectroscopy theoretical approximations made it possible to achieve high-accuracy gas-concentration measurements with miniature optical sensors.
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