Fabrication of Novel Transparent PMMA Composites for Optical Tagging

The emerging threats caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have drastically increased concerns about soldier survivability. The ability to identify “friend vs. foe” of any approaching vehicles clearly, quickly, and from a distance, is invaluable to ensure a soldier’s safety, as well as critical to providing protection of facilities at strategic locations. The current state-of-the-art uses externally applied coatings or markings onto vehicles that are not seen in the visible light spectrum, yet are detectable with the use of an ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) interrogation device. However, coatings can wear off or wash off, and are susceptible to being counterfeited or tempered.