February 23, 2005
By TIM
MILLER
6 News Anchor/Reporter
KNOX COUNTY (WATE) -- The I-40 interchange at
Watt Road is one of the busiest stretches of interstate
in the country. That makes it a perfect place to test a
special system for radioactive detection, developed by
ORNL.
The SensorNet system has a number of sensors and
devices designed to keep East Tennessee safe.
ORNL's SensorNet project manager Randy Walker
explains further. "We can look for the bad guys from the
standpoint of homeland security and we can look for the
unsafe vehicles, unsafe drivers from the standpoint of
the Department of Transportation."
The technology is enough to keep an electronics buff
busy for days. The SensorNet itself maps winds for any
sign of chemical or biological weapons as part of a
terrorist attack.
Also, several new pieces of equipment have recently
been added, such as a thermal camera traditionally used
to check the brakes on semis for safety violations.
"We're also interested in it from a homeland security
standpoint and looking at loading configurations or
loads that might exceed normal heat in the back of a
truck," Walker says. "That might be anything from loaded
configuration with explosives or radioactive materials."
There's also a license plate reader to track down a
truck that could be carrying a dangerous material. And
another camera keeps an eye on everything driving
through the weigh station.
If radiation or chemicals are detected, the sensors
will catch them. If it's determined the truck driver
doesn't have authority to haul the materials, law
enforcement will take control. The goal is to step in
before an attack happens.
"Osama bin Laden said after 9/11, why attack a tiger
when you can attack a lamb?" Walker says. "It's
important that we go out and look. And in our process of
looking, let the terrorists know we're out looking. We
want to use the equipment to increase the safety of us
and our homeland."
ORNL is considering moving some SensorNet technology
to another Southeastern state to create a pilot program
the whole region can learn from. The plan is then to
expand it nationally so other communities and law
enforcement can take advantage of the technology.
Click
here for part two: making SensorNet mobile
