Year
1992
Abstract
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is in the final stages of developing a Universal Authenticated Item Monitoring System (AIMS) [1]. When completed, AIMS will provide applicable agencies in the U.S. government, and those in the International arena, with a secure and convenient method of monitoring the physical status of selected items. The benefit derived from this development activity will be the commercial availability of an item monitoring system with the capability for \"quick set-up\" monitoring, as well as long-term unattended monitoring. The AIMS includes a variety of sensors, a robust and authenticated radio frequency (RF) communication link, a Receiver Processing Unit (RPU), and an inspector-friendly personal computer (PC) interface for collecting, sorting, viewing, and archiving pertinent event histories. The system will provide the capability to monitor selected items in a real-time mode, a remotely interrogated mode, and a stand-alone, unattended data collection mode. The sensor suite under development includes advanced motion sensors, interior volumetric intrusion sensors, Re-usable, In-situ Verifiable Authenticated (RIVA) fiber-optic seal sensors, generic utility sensors (to accommodate contact closure inputs), and radiation and environmental sensors. A new generation authentication algorithm recently has been developed that provides a high degree of system security [2]. The AIMS has potential safeguards applications in the areas of arms control and treaty verification, military asset control, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Euratom safeguards verification activities, as well as domestic nuclear safeguard activities. Commercial applications could include high-value inventory control and security systems. This paper describes the second-generation AIMS along with its recently expanded sensor suite and enhanced data collection capabilities.