Patent ID: 7453080

Claim:
A scanning system for locating a physical alteration, if such exists, in a structure having a substantially planar surface comprising a plurality of elements capable of scattering electro-magnetic radiation and openings arranged between the elements, the system comprising: a moving platform for providing relative motion of the system with respect to the structure; at least one source of coherent electro-magnetic radiation configured for illuminating at least a portion of said surface in its relative motion with respect to the structure; at least a first and a second detection unit each operable along a different collection direction and configured for collecting electro-magnetic radiation reflected from said at least a portion of the surface and for generating a speckle intensity pattern of the reflected radiation indicative of an arrangement of the elements and openings; a computing unit configured for generating a segmented map of the portion based on said intensity patterns, by associating each segment with location data indicative of the location of the segment and occurrence data indicative of an occurrence of the alteration, thereby allowing to compare said map to a reference model and determine the location of the alteration, if such exists.