Real-time distributed fiber optic sensor for security systems: Performance, event classification and nuisance mitigation

The success of any perimeter intrusion detection system depends on three important performance parameters: the probability of detection (POD), the nuisance alarm rate (NAR), and the false alarm rate (FAR). The most fundamental parameter, POD, is normally related to a number of factors such as the event of interest, the sensitivity of the sensor, the installation quality of the system, and the reliability of the sensing equipment. The suppression of nuisance alarms without degrading sensitivity in fiber optic intrusion detection systems is key to maintaining acceptable performance. Signal processing algorithms that maintain the POD and eliminate nuisance alarms are crucial for achieving this. In this paper, a robust event classification system using supervised neural networks together with a level crossings (LCs) based feature extraction algorithm is presented for the detection and recognition of intrusion and non-intrusion events in a fence-based fiber-optic intrusion detection system. A level crossings algorithm is also used with a dynamic threshold to suppress torrential rain-induced nuisance alarms in a fence system. Results show that rain-induced nuisance alarms can be suppressed for rainfall rates in excess of 100 mm/hr with the simultaneous detection of intrusion events. The use of a level crossing based detection and novel classification algorithm is also presented for a buried pipeline fiber optic intrusion detection system for the suppression of nuisance events and discrimination of intrusion events. The sensor employed for both types of systems is a distributed bidirectional fiber-optic Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer.