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Summer 2003

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Imagine being caught in the middle of a bank robbery. You and several other hostages are scared for your lives as the robber runs amongst you. Feeling uneasy about how the police will react to the hostage situation you wonder how it will all end. However, you have little reason to fear. The police can see through the wall and know the indoor hostage scene, including movements, locations, and items of interest such as weapons and explosives. Using their knowledge and extraordinary futuristic technology they are able to successfully apprehend the criminal and no one is harmed in the process.

Perhaps this seems too good to be true, or even absurd. Years ago the idea of seeing through a wall would have been dismissed as total nonsense; however, today at Villanova University, a system is being developed that will do that which was once considered impossible. Villanova’s College of Engineering is home to the Center for Advanced Communications, a Center that is gradually making imaging through the wall a reality.

The Center for Advanced Communications is a communications research program at Villanova. Although, many Villanovans may be unaware of what the Center does, or even that it exists, it is most certainly worthy of our pride. The Center is internationally known and garnered various honors and supporters since it was founded in 1990.

Dr. Moeness Amin is the director of CAC, which aims to train students through academic and research channels, promote economic growth and job creation in the communications industry. The Center for Advanced Communications has been a National Science Foundation Center for the past eleven years. This prestigious honor is not the only one to be bestowed upon the Center. The CAC is funded by various federal agencies including The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and the US Government Office of Research and Development. Companies of all sizes also sponsor the center including The Boeing Company, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Motorola and InterDigital Communications Corp.

The Center for Advanced Communications’ research areas include anti-jamming of GPS techniques, smart and secure communications, low profile antennas and radar signal processing, which includes through the wall microwave imaging. The Center has the facilities of the Center for Engineering & Education Research, CEER, at its disposal. Undergraduate, graduate, and post doctoral students gain valuable experience in the Center.

The through-the-wall microwave imaging radar project is funded by DARPA. It is collaboration between Villanova, The University of Pennsylvania and the Naval Service Warfare Center of Philadelphia. The project’s objective is to create a low cost portable through-the-wall imaging system. The system would ideally, facilitate real-time target detection and classification, aid in the removal of clutter (objects such as furniture that cause unwanted radar returns), help target identification, and include high resolution direction finding.

Amin explains the procedure in terms that non engineers can understand. According to him, antennas will be placed against the wall or at a desirable stand-off distance. The electromagnetic waves that radiate will bounce back off the various objects in the room, including humans, to the antennas and they will be processed. This innovation will be a reliable and safe way to see what is happening on the other side of the wall. The image will be displayed on a lap top. The CAC believes that this project has multiple purposes and intends it to be used for defense applications, and in law enforcement, avalanche and earthquake victims as well as firefighting. The developing technology will reveal if people on the other side are moving or breathing.

According to Amin, with the ideas of the uses of this technology in mind, Villanova tested and proposed them to DARPA. After proving their concept, the Center gained funding, which allocated to the collaborating institutions, keeping the majority of the money for Villanova’s use. Specializing in the two major areas of the process, signal processing and antenna design, and electromagnetics, the Center forges ahead in its research. Thus far, the CAC has published several journal papers and numerous conference articles. Amin himself gave an invited plenary talk in Germany at a conference called the International Symposium of Signal Processing and Information Technology. In addition, he represents the US in the NATO Task Force and Exploratory Team in Through-the-Wall Imaging Research and Development. The first meeting was held in Paris, France during March 25,26th, 04, and included representative from France, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Canada, and Italy.

The amazing program began in August 2002; Amin hopes that the Center will have a working prototype in the third year. The Center for Advanced Communications has surely helped Villanova prove itself as a remarkable institution. The University’s contributions to the technology will one day make seeing through the walls a concrete and truly beneficial reality.