Homeland Security gets radiation-hunting SUV

While we're likely still quite a ways away from having nuke detectors in every cellphone, the Department of Homeland Security is apparently at least making some progress in other somewhat portable options, with it now showing off a radiation-hunting Chevy Suburban XL built with a little help from Raytheon. Intended specifically for the DHS's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the SUV boasts two sliding panels that can swing out for maintenance but remain neatly concealed when on duty, as opposed to current systems that are mounted in the back of pick-up trucks. That, of course, gets paired with a laptop, which provides a full spectroscopic analysis, and the entire system can be configured to trigger a number of different alarms, including a simple vibration alert to a dedicated PDA, or a scare-the-wits-out-of-everyone approach that involves setting off the car alarm, lights, horn and siren.

[Brodie @ Mar 19th 2008 11:43AM]

I really need to learn to read the headline first then look at the picture second because I thought this was going to be the ultimate tailgating grill... Jokes on me.

[Adam @ Mar 19th 2008 11:47AM]

The only good coming out of all this is that Raytheon has landed one kick ass contract. A nuclear bomb being set off in the CONUS by a rouge entity is highly implausible, if not scientifically impossible.

[RC @ Mar 19th 2008 11:53AM]

Scientifically impossible? Uh, I'm pretty sure science allows it to occur.

[Adam @ Mar 19th 2008 12:20PM]

You missed my point. Do you seriously believe that anyone would claim that a nuclear bomb is scientifically impossible in this day and age? Seriously? I'm pretty sure I typed that in English too. lol

My original point is that since this rig is aimed at detecting nuclear radiation such as nuclear bombs it is useless because nuclear bombs can't be carried around in a suitcase as is often claimed on fictional TV dramas or on less honest news networks (you know who you are).

[al @ Mar 19th 2008 1:03PM]

It's not really made to detect nuclear bombs, it's made to detect dirty bombs and silent bombs. I used to work for a company that made very similar stuff, and in fact they aren't all that useful for detecting a ready-to-go nuke - at most it could maybe detect components being transported for assembly.

[tha-don @ Mar 19th 2008 2:21PM]

"...nuclear bombs can't be carried around in a suitcase as is often claimed on fictional TV dramas or on less honest news networks (you know who you are)."

so are you trying to tell me that hilary clinton couldn't really have a snuke in her sniz?

[Chris @ Mar 19th 2008 4:02PM]

The idea of a rouge entity with a dirty bomb scares me, but imagine the widespread terror if a mauve entity got a hold one?

[Ken @ Mar 19th 2008 5:27PM]

I don't see your logic. The reason why it's so hard to get nukes in the country is because people are developing these types of technologies and the government actively purchasing and using them.

[RC @ Mar 19th 2008 11:51AM]

I would rig it to one of those Dharma station klaxons.

[Timmy @ Mar 19th 2008 12:01PM]

...and it checks for parking tickets that you get in the mail.

[James @ Mar 19th 2008 12:13PM]

They were extremely wise to use an LR3 for the job, it's an awesome machine!

[Rafer @ Mar 19th 2008 12:15PM]

"Chevy Suburban XL"

[DPT @ Mar 23rd 2008 5:52AM]

What is a Suburban XL? There is a Yukon XL, which is the long version of the Yukon. But the long version of the Tahoe is called a Suburban.

[James @ Mar 19th 2008 2:49PM]

My bad, the rear lights look extremely similar.

[NHAnimator @ Mar 19th 2008 12:17PM]

If you see this vehicle driving through your neighborhood at 10mph, then see it suddenly accelerate to 90mph, that might be a hint that you should start packing.

Quickly.

[Yankees368 @ Mar 19th 2008 12:20PM]

It's not very frequent that you see a really funny comment on Engadget, but this is definetly one of them!

[Esat @ Mar 19th 2008 12:26PM]

Great comment.

I lol'd

[OneLove @ Mar 19th 2008 12:24PM]

is it a hybrid?

[Khris @ Mar 19th 2008 12:29PM]

Be vewwy vewwy qwiet! We'we hunting tewwowists!

[Nate @ Mar 19th 2008 12:29PM]

So this is a car with a Geiger Counter hooked up to a laptop? Wow.

[Allen @ Mar 19th 2008 1:11PM]

+1

[EricR @ Mar 19th 2008 12:54PM]

Spectroscopic analysis? like Predator technology?

[jamie @ Mar 19th 2008 2:34PM]

No

[Rob @ Mar 19th 2008 1:04PM]

Fear mongering. Freaking politicians and their corporate crooks.

[Allen @ Mar 19th 2008 1:18PM]

This is an amazing waste of money. Like Nate said, this is basically a Geiger Counter with a laptop. It may be a really POWERFUL Geiger counter, but how many millions of dollars do you think the government sank into this project? It'd probably be far more effective to have twenty or so agents roll around in stock Impala's or Taurus's with manpack geiger counters and just roll through the city in a array or grid formation. That'd have way more detection capability, most likely.

Where as this thing would only be able to check out a single area at a time. It'd cover a LARGE area, but its not a hundredth as easy to deploy. To transport this truck from city to city would take lots of capital and time that you may not have: where as every FBI office in every major city could just as easily have a stock of portable geiger units on hand. How do you alert people of trouble? Phone it in to CNN and the local news and radio stations.

There, my idea costs far less, is far easier to deploy, and has more detection capability. All this project with Raytheon accomplishes is giving Raytheon a nice contract. (Anyone notice, BTW, that Raytheon doesn't bring up spell check?)

[Allen @ Mar 19th 2008 1:20PM]

And just to clarify my idea: every FBI office already has cars, and already has phones for agents. All you need are the Geiger counters.

[Ken @ Mar 19th 2008 1:37PM]

This is not an overgrown Geiger counter. From the pictures and the description in the text, this is essentially a vehicular portal monitor. The large white plastic boxes are HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) moderators with He3 tubes. Those are for neutron detection. Behind them is most likely some large plastic scintillators with photomultipliers for gamma spectroscopy (determines the distinguishes the gamma energy levels). The combination of the two is used in radio isotope identification.

This vehicle can monitor vehicles in motion on the road by pulling up next to them. This allows the DHS to monitor vehicles where normal portals are not installed. Most ports of entry, major tunnels, toll booths are equipped with some fashion of radiation detection. Having a deployable unit like this makes more sense than investing in permanent facilities that may not be needed all the time, eg. sporting or political events.

[Cellulose @ Mar 19th 2008 2:35PM]

Calling this rig a Geiger counter is like calling a digital video camera a "light meter". I guess they can be used the same way, but they are not the same thing.

This "Geiger counter" can also perform spectroscopic analysis--the system can analyze the spectrum coming out of the PMT and tell the operator what type of radioactive isotope has been detected.

Knowing the type of isotope can help a trained operator quickly decide whether a vehicle may contain a potential threat--i.e. did the system detect Plutonium or Potasium?

A person might treat radiation alarm a bit differently with that piece of information.

A Geiger counter with untrained FBI agents would be far less effective and give a potential threat a lot more time to react. If there really was a terroist sitting on a bomb, a mob of FBI agents holding Geiger counters would probably make him panic.


That said... this is not new. Several companies have already built, contracted, and sold such mobile rigs with identical capabilities to DHS over the last few years.

Sounds to me like someone in DHS owes a few favors to Ratheyon.

[BigD145 @ Mar 19th 2008 3:20PM]

What they're going to find is lots of "false alarms" from military toxic waste dumps. Every state has a few of them.

[Bill @ Mar 19th 2008 4:47PM]

Yeah, I bet the operator sets the threshold on this thing crazy low.

Jack and his crew will be kicking down the doors of antique shops to arrest radium-dial clocks.

[Ken @ Mar 19th 2008 5:22PM]

The point of spectroscopy is to identify the isotopes. There is no "threshold" to set. The system allows the ability to distinguish everyday radioactive items like bananas (these types of detectors can identify potassium 40 which constitute a small percentage of the potassium found in bananas). Jack won't be getting a call unless they find some good peaks denoting cesium 137, strontium 90 or some other radioactive nasty.

[Bob @ Mar 19th 2008 6:21PM]

what if the driver and/or operators went for a coffee break and the van got jacked! Id be like ROFL!!! And the drivers would be like oh shit we better think of something fast!