Tech
NASA's New Radar Technology Detects Heartbeats of Victims Trapped in Debris [VIDEO]
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Sep 27, 2013 06:51 AM EDT
NASA along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working on creating a radar device capable of detecting heartbeats and breathing patterns of people buried under large piles of rubble.
The technology, dubbed Finding Individuals For Disaster and Emergency Response (FINDER), is based on a remote sensing radar technology that is capable of locating people buried about 30 feet deep in crushed materials.
Apart from this the first of its kind portable radar device can locate individuals hidden behind 20 feet of solid concrete and also detect them from a distance of 100 feet.
The technology FINDER is based on the remote sensing radar technology that was first developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to track the location of the spacecrafts.
"FINDER is bringing NASA technology that explores other planets to the effort to save lives on ours," said Mason Peck, chief technologist for NASA and principal advisor on technology policy and programs in a news statement. "This is a prime example of intergovernmental collaboration and expertise that has a direct benefit to the American taxpayer."
The technology will be further tested by the end of this year and next by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"The ultimate goal of FINDER is to help emergency responders efficiently rescue victims of disasters. The technology has the potential to quickly identify the presence of living victims, allowing rescue workers to more precisely deploy their limited resources," said John Price, program manager for the First Responders Group in Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate in Washington.
The technology beams microwave radar signals in the piles of debris and analyzes the patterns of the signals that come back. This technique is not just used to locate spacecraft but is also used in scientific research.
But the use of these radar signals in disaster scenarios is complex because in cases of earthquakes and tornadoes the signals bouncing back are tangled and more difficult to decode. The advanced algorithms further isolate the tiny signals from a person's moving chest by separating it from other signals coming from moving animals and swaying plants.
"Detecting small motions from the victim's heartbeat and breathing from a distance uses the same kind of signal processing as detecting the small changes in motion of spacecraft like Cassini as it orbits Saturn," said James Lux, task manager for FINDER at JPL.
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First Posted: Sep 27, 2013 06:51 AM EDT
NASA along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working on creating a radar device capable of detecting heartbeats and breathing patterns of people buried under large piles of rubble.
The technology, dubbed Finding Individuals For Disaster and Emergency Response (FINDER), is based on a remote sensing radar technology that is capable of locating people buried about 30 feet deep in crushed materials.
Apart from this the first of its kind portable radar device can locate individuals hidden behind 20 feet of solid concrete and also detect them from a distance of 100 feet.
The technology FINDER is based on the remote sensing radar technology that was first developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to track the location of the spacecrafts.
"FINDER is bringing NASA technology that explores other planets to the effort to save lives on ours," said Mason Peck, chief technologist for NASA and principal advisor on technology policy and programs in a news statement. "This is a prime example of intergovernmental collaboration and expertise that has a direct benefit to the American taxpayer."
The technology will be further tested by the end of this year and next by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"The ultimate goal of FINDER is to help emergency responders efficiently rescue victims of disasters. The technology has the potential to quickly identify the presence of living victims, allowing rescue workers to more precisely deploy their limited resources," said John Price, program manager for the First Responders Group in Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate in Washington.
The technology beams microwave radar signals in the piles of debris and analyzes the patterns of the signals that come back. This technique is not just used to locate spacecraft but is also used in scientific research.
But the use of these radar signals in disaster scenarios is complex because in cases of earthquakes and tornadoes the signals bouncing back are tangled and more difficult to decode. The advanced algorithms further isolate the tiny signals from a person's moving chest by separating it from other signals coming from moving animals and swaying plants.
"Detecting small motions from the victim's heartbeat and breathing from a distance uses the same kind of signal processing as detecting the small changes in motion of spacecraft like Cassini as it orbits Saturn," said James Lux, task manager for FINDER at JPL.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone