Year
1994
Abstract
During chemical weapons challenge inspections, the CWC treaty allows \"alternate means\" of access to be proposed by the nation challenged. The reasons for denying physical access to an inspection team may include entry into areas which are environmentally unsafe, as well as entry into areas where knowledgeable persons may gain sensitive information above and beyond the scope of the challenge inspection. BNL's Safeguards, Safety and Nonproliferation Division is funded by the Defense Nuclear Agency to develop a system to provide the challenge inspection team with a \"virtual presence\" within the facility while denying personal access. A general purpose configuration of a mobile station manned by site personnel and a base station manned by the challenge inspector, supported by a flexible communication system, will allow facility personnel to tailor the basic model to their site. Design of the MACS system is based on maximum use of commercial equipment that is available on the international market. Design requirements for the MACS system include methods of establishing geographical position, distance measuring equipment for use in verifying dimensions on floor plans, video and two-way audio links between the mobile unit and the base station, and portability and versatility of the equipment The MACS platform will also support deployment of selected instrumentation which the site may offer to the challenge inspection team. This paper describes the design and construction of the prototype MACS system.