Gardnerville, NV--Hyperspectral-camera maker Terrax said that its security advisor, Doug Melvin, spoke at the Afghanistan Reconstruction Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The conference, held in January 2010, was organized by countries involved in security and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Attendees included prime ministers, cabinet-level officials, and senior governmental and nongovernmental leaders.
The Theia camera
Melvin discussed the use of Terrax's Theia camera on the current security situation globally, as well as in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. According to Terrax, the consensus of the senior security officials attending the conference was that the Theia camera would have a significant impact on the stability and security of Afghanistan and the surrounding region.
The discussions focused on the technical aspects of using the camera's hyperspectral-imaging capability to identify dangerous materials at a safe distance from security checkpoints, providing stand-off detection capability. The Terrax camera has a target-detection range of 300 ft and tracks targets in real time; it can simultaneously work with 100 hyperspectral data cubes, also in real time. The system is designed for portable as well as fixed applications. It includes several on-board real time target-detection and data-optimization algorithms based on a calibration library.
At the January conference, Melvin held multiple meetings with senior generals representing International Security Force Afghanistan (ISAF) regarding the civilian capabilities of the Theia Project. In addition, Melvin met with Afghanistan's minister of commerce to discuss the purchase of Theia systems by Afghanistan's government. Melvin also spoke with senior Turkish generals and the former prime minister of Turkey.
Terrax was founded in 2000 and was recently acquired by Brazilian Mining Corp., a diamond-mining company located in Gardnerville, NV.
