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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Technology Report. |
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When a building collapses, |
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every minute is important for victims |
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buried under the wreckage, |
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that is why two American government agencies |
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teamed up to develop a high-tech tool |
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to find those who are trapped. |
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The Department of Homeland Security and NASA, |
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the National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
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took part in the project. |
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Rescue crews have been testing the state-of-the-art |
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radar tool called FINDER. |
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The name may short for Finding individuals |
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for Disaster and Emergency Response. |
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This radar device can recognize |
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a person's smallest movements or even a heart beat, |
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even when the individual is unable to communicate. |
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Earlier this year, Homeland Security and rescuers |
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used FINDER to carry out more than 65 test searches |
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in the American state of Virginia. |
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They say, the tests prove successful |
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in recognizing a human heart beat under 9 metres |
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of mixed concrete and other material. |
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The device was also able to identify a heart beat |
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hidden behind 6 metres of solid concrete, |
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and from a distance of up to 30 metres in open spaces. |
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It is an example of how space agency creations |
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are helping people here on earth. |
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FINDER's technology is based on the tracking technology |
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that NASA uses for its spacecraft. |
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Jim Lux is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. |
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"FINDER works by sending a low-power microwave signal, |
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and it illuminates the rubble pile, |
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and some of the microwaves go in |
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and reflect off the victim inside and come back out. |
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So FINDER sees both the reflection from the rubble, |
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which does not move, |
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and a very tiny reflection from the victim, |
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which does move, because when you breathe |
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and when your heart beats, |
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your skin moves a little bit and we can see that," Lux said. |
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Jim Lux says the device is small, |
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easy to carry and easy to use. |
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"It goes out and collects 30-seconds' worth of data, |
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because that is how long you need to get the heartbeat |
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and the breathing, and then it analyzes it |
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and displays it for the user," Lux said. |
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FINDER could be used with other tools rescuers use, |
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such as listening devices or search dogs. |
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Matthew Tamillow works with Virginia Task Force 1. |
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He says the new technology could help rescuers |
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in deciding which buildings to search. |
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"This type of technology, including FINDER, |
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could aid in the assistance of triaging a building to say, |
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'Okay, there is a strong probability |
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that a live victim could be in here, |
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and we need to devote our valuable human resources |
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into searching it,'" said Tamillow. |
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FINDER is still being developed and tested. |
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NASA says it could start being used in search |
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and rescue operation as early as next year. |
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And that is the Technology Report from VOA Special English. |
