US-12625089-B2 - RF-based special material detection system with secure multi-dimensional authentication

US12625089B2US 12625089 B2US12625089 B2US 12625089B2US-12625089-B2

Abstract

A method includes accessing a material database associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies; for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database: transmitting, via an RF transmitter, an RF signal into a target at a first resonance frequency for each material; receiving, via an RF receiver, a response signal from the target; and analyzing the response signal for resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of each material in the target; generating a report of each material in the target indicated by the resonance characteristics; and integrating the report with at least one of: a timestamp; image or video data from a camera; or geolocation data from a geolocation sensor.

Inventors

Robert J. Short, Jr.
Lee Duke
John Cronin
Michael D'Andrea
Harrison GRANT

Assignees

QUANTUM IP, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250724

Claims (20)

1 . A machine-implemented method for materials detection-based security, the method comprising: transmitting an RF signal via a radio frequency (RF) transmitter into a target object at a first resonance frequency specified by stored information in a material database for a material; receiving a response signal from the target object via an RF receiver in response to the RF signal; and detecting one or more materials present in the target object by determining that the response signal exhibits one or more resonance characteristics associated with each of the identified materials; integrating data regarding the detected materials with sensor data captured by one or more sensors at a time associated with a time of detection; and generating a report for display on a graphical display screen, the report including the data regarding each detected material in the target object integrated with the sensor data.
2 . The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising encrypting the report using a first encryption method.
3 . The machine-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising transmitting the encrypted report to at least one of a security network or one or more third party systems.
4 . The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the sensors include one or more of a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a microphone, a thermal imager, a radar device, a lidar device, an ultrasound device, a speaker, or a wearable device.
5 . The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the report includes at least one of a signal strength of the response signal as measured by the RF receiver or a confidence level of identification as calculated by the at least one processor.
6 . The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the stored information in the material database further includes a priority of detecting each material of a plurality of materials for one or more applications, and wherein the RF signal is transmitted for each material in order of the priority for a specific application.
7 . The machine-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein at least a subset of the plurality of materials is selected by a user.
8 . The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that no materials are identified or ambiguous resonance characteristics are detected; and using a second resonance frequency for material as specified by the stored information in the material database.
9 . The machine-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: performing facial recognition on image or video data in the sensor data; determining that the image or video data is of a person as positively identified by the facial recognition; and storing personal details of the identified person in a security database.
10 . The machine-implemented method of claim 9 , determining that the identified person is included in a list of individuals, and initiating an alarm or another automatic action.
11 . A material detection and identification system for materials detection-based security, the system comprising: a radio frequency (RF) transmitter configured to transmit an RF signal into the target object at a first resonance frequency specified by stored information in a material database for a material; an RF receiver configured to receive a response signal from the target object in response to the RF signal; and at least one processor configured to execute instructions stored in memory, wherein the at least one processor executes the instructions to: detect one or more materials present in the target object by determining that the response signal exhibits one or more resonance characteristics associated with each of the identified materials; integrate data regarding the detected materials with sensor data captured by one or more sensors at a time associated with a time of detection; and generate a report for display on a graphical display screen, the report including the data regarding each detected material in the target object integrated with the sensor data.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor executes further instructions to encrypt the report using a first encryption method.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor executes further instructions to initiate transmission via a communication interface of the encrypted report to at least one of a security network or one or more third party systems.
14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the sensors include one or more of a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a microphones, a thermal imager, a radar device, a lidar device, an ultrasound device, a speaker, or a wearable device.
15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the report includes at least one of a signal strength of the response signal or a confidence level of identification.
16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the stored information in the material database further includes a priority of detecting each material of a plurality of materials for one or more applications, and wherein the RF transmitter is configured to transmit the RF signal for each material in order of the priority for a specific application.
17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein at least a subset of the plurality of materials is selected by a user.
18 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising determining that no materials are identified or ambiguous resonance characteristics are detected, wherein the RF transmitter uses a second resonance frequency for the material as specified by the stored information in the material database.
19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor executes further instructions to: perform facial recognition on the image or video data in the sensor data; and determining that the image or video data is of a person as positively identified by the facial recognition; and further comprising a security database in memory configured to store personal details of the identified person.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor executes further instructions to determine that the identified person is included in a list of individuals and to initiate an alarm or another automatic action.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/936,500, filed Nov. 4, 2024, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,372,480, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/668,633, filed Jul. 8, 2024, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure is generally related to RF-based material identification. BACKGROUND Current substance detection technologies at security checkpoints often lack the necessary sensitivity to identify trace amounts of advanced explosives and chemical agents. This insufficiency can result in dangerous materials passing undetected, thereby compromising the security of airports, government buildings, and other critical infrastructures. The preservation of detection data for future evidentiary hearings is often flawed due to inadequate data integrity protocols and insufficient chain of custody procedures. These shortcomings can lead to the loss, tampering, or corruption of critical evidence, thereby undermining the reliability of the data in legal contexts. Security personnel often require more context than is provided by sensors and detectors. Records of past incidents, criminal history, outstanding warrants, or other background information may allow security personnel and law enforcement officers to make more informed executive decisions. SUMMARY According to one aspect, a method includes accessing a material database associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies. The method also includes, for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database: transmitting, via an RF transmitter, an RF signal into a target at a first resonance frequency for each material; receiving, via an RF receiver, a response signal from the target; and analyzing the response signal for resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of each material in the target. The method further includes generating a report of each material in the target indicated by the resonance characteristics. In addition, the method includes integrating the report with at least one of: a timestamp; image or video data from a camera; or geolocation data from a geolocation sensor. In some embodiments, the method further includes encrypting the integrated report. In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting the encrypted integrated report to at least one of a security network or one or more third parties. In some embodiments, integrating comprises integrating the report with data from one or more additional sensors including one or more of a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a microphones, a thermal imager, a radar device, a lidar device, an ultrasound device, a speaker, or a wearable device. In some embodiments, the report includes at least one of a signal strength of the response signal or a confidence level of identification. In some embodiments, the material database indicates a priority of detecting each material of the at least the subset of materials for one or more applications, and wherein transmitting includes transmitting into the target the RF signal at the first resonance frequency for each material in order of the priority for a specific application. In some embodiments, the at least the subset of the plurality of materials is selected by a user. In some embodiments, the method further includes, if no materials are identified or ambiguous resonance characteristics are detected, repeating the transmitting, receiving, and analyzing using a second resonance frequency for one or more of the materials in the material database. In some embodiments, the method further includes performing facial recognition on the image or video data and, if a person is positively identified by the facial recognition, storing personal details of the identified person in a security database. In some embodiments, if the identified person is included in a list of individuals, the method further includes initiating an alarm or another automatic action. According to another aspect, a system includes an interface configured to access a material database associating each of a plurality of materials with one or more corresponding resonance frequencies. The system also includes an RF transmitter configured to, for each material of at least a subset of the plurality of materials in the material database, transmit into a target an RF signal at a first resonance frequency for each material. The system further includes an RF receiver configured to receive a response signal from the target for each RF signal. In addition, the system includes a processor configured to analyze each response signal for resonance characteristics that indicate a presence of each material in the target; generate a report of each material in the target indicated by the resonance characteristics; and integrate the report with at least one of: a timestamp; image or vide