Auburn University has been awarded $564,988 total for two research and development projects to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of (very good) dogs who are trained to detect explosives. Awarded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), Auburn will begin work on the Whole Spectrum Explosive Odor Training project and the Examination and Enhancement of Canine Evaluations project.
The Whole Spectrum Explosive Odor Training project fetched $280,566 to develop a program that will help canines “overcome adversaries’ attempts to modify, filter, or reduce explosive odor signatures in improvised explosive devices.”
The Examination and Enhancement of Canine Evaluations project fetched $284,422 to “examine the practical difference in performance measurement data integrity between single-and double-blind canine team evaluation methods.” They will then use the resulting data to groom better techniques and procedures to improve the detection performance of the canine teams.
“What we fund provides the community with the tools, techniques, and knowledge to better understand, train, and use explosives detection canines and enables more effective and efficient operational performance,” said Don Roberts, S&T Detection Canine Program Manager.
