All-weather vehicle classification using magnetometer arrays

Arrays of vector magnetometers employing matched field processing have demonstrated the ability to accurately detect, track, and characterize the magnetic signature of vehicles traveling within range of the sensor field, regardless of weather conditions. This processing works on all types of vehicles, including passenger cars, light trucks, tractor-trailers, tanks, armored personnel carriers, etc. Consistency among the magnetic dipole estimates from similar vehicles has led to investigations of the ability to classify using magnetic information obtained from this process. Preliminary results suggest that separation of the permanent and induced portions of a vehicle's magnetic moment can provide the basis for an accurate, all-weather vehicle classifier.