IRVINE, Calif., 3 Oct. 2005. HiEnergy Technologies, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Army is currently testing its STARRAY 01 prototype -- a robot-borne detector of home-made bombs.
Army and HiEnergy scientists will work together over a two-week period at an unspecified Army open-air facility. The tests have been requested by the Army, which has provided $30,000 to date towards its expenses.
The STARRAY 01 evolved from the design of HiEnergy's suitcase-borne SIEGMA 3E3, HiEnergy's first commercially available explosive detection system, in response to the need by first responders and the military for enhanced mobility, remote capability, and control.
In the STARRAY 01 prototype, HiEnergy's proprietary Stoitech technology and explosive detection system components have been integrated with an Andros Mark V Remote Vehicle manufactured by Remotec, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. In the prototype, the detector and sensors are deployed at the end of a robotic arm for safe and effective interrogation. The STARRAY 01 has been designed to quickly cover rough terrain, climb stairs, clear obstacles and cross ditches as wide as 24 inches, and the complete system is environmentally sealed to operate in any weather condition and in areas of high temperature and humidity.
"While the results cannot be publicly disclosed under the agreement, we can say that we are satisfied by the early signals of results from the field" said Dr. Maglich, HiEnergy Technologies, Inc.'s chairman and chief scientist. "Notably, the tests in the presence of the U.S. Army are expected to provide us with the validation necessary to make the STARRAY 01 our next commercial product."
HiEnergy is the creator of the world's first diagnostic devices which can effectively decipher chemical formulas of unknown substances through metal or other barriers, almost instantly and without human intervention. HiEnergy's products incorporate a proprietary interrogation process which activates a selected target with neutrons causing the contents to emit back gamma rays that contain unique signatures from which the chemical formulas are derived.
HiEnergy compares its technology to other detection technologies like color photography is to black-and-white photography. Its first commercial product, the SIEGMA 3E3 is unique in that it can detect and confirm whether an object or container carries dangerous or illicit selected substances, such as explosives, biological agents, or illicit drugs, with a probability of detection equal to 97.75%, and "false negative" and "false positive" rates of 2.25%. For more information, see www.hienergyinc.com.
