A step out of the lab and into the field: a giant leap from technology to capability

Abstract

As efforts are made to develop detection, identification and monitoring equipment to provide capabilities to meet emerging threats, particular attention should be paid to the real-life operational environment and the uncontrollable factors which can impact on effectiveness and usability. All too often, laboratory-proven, sophisticated and effective instrumentation can suffer from degraded performance, and even failure, when deployed in demanding or harsh conditions, and may entail unacceptable handling or health and safety requirements. This Forum article looks at some of the technical and procedural considerations which should be taken into account when developing operational capabilities from proven scientific techniques.