{"670185":{"#nid":"670185","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Battlefield Obscurants Could Give Warfighters a Visability Advantage","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Ch3\u003EClouds of tiny structures that are lighter than feathers \u2013 and whose properties can be remotely controlled by radio frequency (RF) signals \u2013 could one day give U.S. warfighters and their allies the ability to observe their adversaries while reducing how well they themselves can be seen.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing miniaturized electronics and advanced optical techniques, this new generation of tailorable, tunable, and safe battlefield obscurants \u2013 which could be quickly turned on and off \u2013 could provide an asymmetric visibility advantage. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among several teams funded to develop a new generation of battlefield obscurants as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2019s (DARPA) Coded Visibility (CV) program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESmoke screens created to hide troop movements or ships at sea have been used in past conflicts. Often based on burning fuel oil, these conventional techniques have many disadvantages, including limiting the visibility of both sides and using materials that are potentially harmful to warfighters. The new approach being developed at Georgia Tech will instead use lightweight and non-toxic electrically reconfigurable structures that would form obscuring plumes able to hang in the air over a battlefield.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENanophotonic Technologies Change Properties\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe will bring nanophotonic structures into the real world and be able to change their properties remotely without having direct contact such as with an optical fiber,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/ali-adibi\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAli Adibi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and the project\u2019s principal investigator. \u201cThey could be part of a cloud of nanostructures formed from a foil material with different dimensions, from millimeters to centimeters. They could include an antenna and diode or heater that would allow them to respond to an RF signal, changing their properties to collectively affect light passing through.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe transparent foil structures might be used to change the optical properties of the plume to favor visibility in one direction, depending on the RF signal sent. With differences in their sizes and properties, the plumes could include a variety of structures that would respond to different frequencies, potentially allowing the obscurant cloud to be tuned for conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe will utilize a known electromagnetic concept that, by having a different distribution of scattering properties and absorptive properties, will allow us to control the asymmetric visibility,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdibi\u2019s research group has pioneered development of reconfigurable nanophotonic devices, fabricating phase-change optical materials that transition from amorphous to crystalline. The technique has been used to change such properties as the colors reflected from the structures.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStructures Take Advantage of Optical Properties\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETransparent materials like the foils planned for use in the project can also reflect light, similar to the way a car\u2019s windshield allows drivers to see out \u2013 while also creating reflections, noted Brent Wagner, a co-principal investigator of the project and a principal research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA transparent material will reflect light, just because it\u2019s in air, which gives it a different refractive index,\u201d he said. \u201cThe light doesn\u2019t have to reflect back in the direction it came from. It can reflect to the right or left, or even back through itself. The clouds we will be creating will tend to scatter light, which means the light carrying information will get bounced at different angles.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe coded visibility plumes likely won\u2019t permit picture-perfect visibility, but should give friendly forces enough information to tell what an enemy is doing. At this stage, the researchers don\u2019t know how well the technique will ultimately work, though modeling the scattering and absorption is so far encouraging.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ll be doing a lot of modeling and simulation looking at the kind of obscurants that can be created and the scattering properties at different light angles and wavelengths,\u201d Wagner explained. \u201cWe\u2019ll create a cloud model to study where the particles are and how they are oriented.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInterdisciplinary Tradeoffs Guide Decisions\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers are using machine learning to help select optimal phase-change materials that can be altered with minimal power. The AI technique will also help the team design the most efficient antennas and maximize the extent to which the particles can be reconfigured by the RF signals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese nanophotonic devices will be very small, but we will need to reach each one of them and provide enough power to change their properties,\u201d Adibi noted. \u201cThe more power that is needed to create that change, the more sophisticated the antennas will have to be.\u201d During the final phase of the multi-year project, the team will conduct a demonstration of their reconfigurable obscurant in a 27-cubic meter instrumented test room. That will require producing large volumes of particles and demonstrating how their manufacture could be scaled up for actual use.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project has brought together multiple specialties to the research team, which includes approximately a dozen faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and students from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and GTRI. Additional key contributors to this multidisciplinary research project included Oliver Pierson and John Stewart of GTRI as well as Prof. Seung Soon Jang of Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a true multidisciplinary project that combines technologies such as antenna design and electromagnetics with circuit design concepts and optical materials, optical devices, and AI with system-level electromagnetic analysis and characterization,\u201d Adibi said. \u201cWe will also need to consider the effects of wind, how the clouds move and other factors. Expertise from all of these disciplines will be essential to making the project successful.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWriter: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.toon@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(john.toon@gtri.gatech.edu)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGTRI Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAtlanta, Georgia USA\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)\u003C\/a\u003E is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).\u202fFounded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry.\u202fGTRI\u0027s renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EClouds of tiny structures that are lighter than feathers \u2013 and whose properties can be remotely controlled by radio frequency (RF) signals \u2013 could one day give U.S. warfighters and their allies the ability to observe their adversaries while reducing how well they themselves can be seen.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among several teams funded to develop a new generation of battlefield obscurants as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2019s (DARPA) Coded Visibility (CV) program. "}],"uid":"35832","created_gmt":"2023-10-05 14:35:20","changed_gmt":"2023-10-05 14:38:51","author":"Michelle Gowdy","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-10-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-10-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671948":{"id":"671948","type":"image","title":"Testing Electronic Circuitry on a Nanophotonic Structure ","body":"\u003Cp\u003EElectronic circuitry on a nanophotonic structure under test will change the optical properties of the structure when it absorbs radio frequency energy. (Credit: Christopher Moore)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1696516072","gmt_created":"2023-10-05 14:27:52","changed":"1696516259","gmt_changed":"2023-10-05 14:30:59","alt":"Testing Electronic Circuitry on a Nanophotonic Structure ","file":{"fid":"255113","name":"PHOTO_Light Changing Sensor_018.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/05\/PHOTO_Light%20Changing%20Sensor_018.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/05\/PHOTO_Light%20Changing%20Sensor_018.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1091462,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/10\/05\/PHOTO_Light%20Changing%20Sensor_018.jpg?itok=lCpIuXeE"}},"671949":{"id":"671949","type":"image","title":"Team of GTRI Researchers Testing Nanophotonic Devices","body":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute are shown in the anechoic chamber where nanophotonic devices were tested. Shown are Connor Frost, Zhitao Kang, Ryan Westafer, Joshua Kovitz, Brent Wagner and Taylor Shapero. (Credit: Christopher Moore)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1696516279","gmt_created":"2023-10-05 14:31:19","changed":"1696516372","gmt_changed":"2023-10-05 14:32:52","alt":"Team of GTRI Researchers Testing Nanophotonic Devices","file":{"fid":"255114","name":"PHOTO_Light Changing Sensor_011.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/05\/PHOTO_Light%20Changing%20Sensor_011.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/05\/PHOTO_Light%20Changing%20Sensor_011.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2211823,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/10\/05\/PHOTO_Light%20Changing%20Sensor_011.jpg?itok=7GFf2nKy"}}},"media_ids":["671948","671949"],"groups":[{"id":"1276","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"166902","name":"science and technology"},{"id":"341","name":"innovation"},{"id":"690","name":"darpa"},{"id":"191006","name":"battlefield"},{"id":"193131","name":"Coded Visibility program"},{"id":"166855","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"id":"193132","name":"RF signal"},{"id":"191158","name":"protecting warfighters"},{"id":"9167","name":"machine learning"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E(Interim) Director of Communications\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMichelle Gowdy\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMichelle.Gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E404-407-8060\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michelle.gowdy@gtri.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}