American Agencies Test Radar for Locating Trapped People

歌曲 American Agencies Test Radar for Locating Trapped People
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专辑 VOA慢速英语:科技报道

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[00:00.100] From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.290] this is the Technology Report.
[00:06.040] When a building collapses,
[00:08.750] every minute is important for victims
[00:12.540] buried under the wreckage,
[00:14.400] that is why two American government agencies
[00:18.160] teamed up to develop a high-tech tool
[00:22.160] to find those who are trapped.
[00:25.200] The Department of Homeland Security and NASA,
[00:29.510] the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
[00:33.100] took part in the project.
[00:35.700] Rescue crews have been testing the state-of-the-art
[00:40.260] radar tool called FINDER.
[00:42.720] The name may short for Finding individuals
[00:46.220] for Disaster and Emergency Response.
[00:50.170] This radar device can recognize
[00:53.480] a person's smallest movements or even a heart beat,
[00:58.510] even when the individual is unable to communicate.
[01:03.370] Earlier this year, Homeland Security and rescuers
[01:08.630] used FINDER to carry out more than 65 test searches
[01:15.120] in the American state of Virginia.
[01:18.330] They say, the tests prove successful
[01:22.690] in recognizing a human heart beat under 9 metres
[01:27.630] of mixed concrete and other material.
[01:31.300] The device was also able to identify a heart beat
[01:36.500] hidden behind 6 metres of solid concrete,
[01:40.810] and from a distance of up to 30 metres in open spaces.
[01:46.570] It is an example of how space agency creations
[01:51.320] are helping people here on earth.
[01:54.320] FINDER's technology is based on the tracking technology
[01:59.470] that NASA uses for its spacecraft.
[02:03.690] Jim Lux is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
[02:09.190] "FINDER works by sending a low-power microwave signal,
[02:11.740] and it illuminates the rubble pile,
[02:13.940] and some of the microwaves go in
[02:15.480] and reflect off the victim inside and come back out.
[02:18.340] So FINDER sees both the reflection from the rubble,
[02:21.140] which does not move,
[02:22.040] and a very tiny reflection from the victim,
[02:24.190] which does move, because when you breathe
[02:25.790] and when your heart beats,
[02:26.990] your skin moves a little bit and we can see that," Lux said.
[02:28.800] Jim Lux says the device is small,
[02:31.940] easy to carry and easy to use.
[02:36.640] "It goes out and collects 30-seconds' worth of data,
[02:39.200] because that is how long you need to get the heartbeat
[02:41.940] and the breathing, and then it analyzes it
[02:43.950] and displays it for the user," Lux said.
[02:45.750] FINDER could be used with other tools rescuers use,
[02:49.750] such as listening devices or search dogs.
[02:53.660] Matthew Tamillow works with Virginia Task Force 1.
[02:58.370] He says the new technology could help rescuers
[03:03.160] in deciding which buildings to search.
[03:07.380] "This type of technology, including FINDER,
[03:09.730] could aid in the assistance of triaging a building to say,
[03:13.790] 'Okay, there is a strong probability
[03:16.090] that a live victim could be in here,
[03:18.250] and we need to devote our valuable human resources
[03:21.210] into searching it,'" said Tamillow.
[03:23.460] FINDER is still being developed and tested.
[03:26.860] NASA says it could start being used in search
[03:31.120] and rescue operation as early as next year.
[03:35.420] And that is the Technology Report from VOA Special English.