A new radar-based technology developed by NASA and the Department of Homeland Security could help rescue workers save a greater number of lives following building collapses.
Called FINDER, short for Finding Individuals for DIsaster and Emergency Response, the device is able to detect a human heartbeat buried beneath 30 feet of crushed material and from behind 20 feet of solid concrete -- a number that increases to 100 feet in open spaces.
One of the main obstacles facing researchers was the fact that, following a disaster, the wreckage consists of mountains of debris, causing radar signals to bounce back in a complex fashion.
"Isolating the relatively weak signal of a heartbeat within the noisy signals becomes a difficult task," Edward Chow, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) project manager, said in a statement.
To overcome this use, the researchers relied on the expertise of JPL, which includes using advanced data processing in order to pick out faint signals.
The microwave radar technology FINDER uses is sensitive enough, according to researchers, to distinguish between a human's breathing patterns and heartbeat from other animals'. As a result, rescue workers using the device would be able to quickly determine whether any survivors, conscience or not, are present in the wake of a disaster.
Testing of FINDER began last June when first responders used the prototype in more than 65 test searches with two Urban Search and Rescue teams -- Fairfax County's Virginia Task Force One (VA-TF1) and Virginia Task Force Two (VA-TF2) in Virginia Beach, Va.
In the case of the former, responders were able to locate a VA-TF1 member buried in 30 feet of mixed concrete and other debris using FINDER.
Scientists plan on completing final improvements in time to roll FINDER out for commercial use as early as spring of next year.