NASA and Homeland Security To Demonstrate Disaster Rescue Tool

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Sep 17, 2013, 03:22 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are collaborating on a new radar device that detects heartbeats of victims trapped in wreckage. The agencies will demonstrate and discuss the device at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Virginia Task Force 1 Training Facility at 9850 Furnace Road (use 9900 for GPS) in Lorton, Va.

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The device, known as the Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response (FINDER), can locate individuals buried under as much as 30 feet of crushed materials, hidden behind 20 feet of solid concrete, or from a distance of 100 feet in open spaces.

The latest prototype incorporates a variety of technological improvements recommended by emergency responders. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., developed FINDER in conjunction with DHS' Science and Technology Directorate.

Participants in the demonstration are:

-- Jim Lux, FINDER task manager, Communications Tracking and Radar Division, JPL

-- Michael Schaff, chief, Virginia Task Force 1

-- Richard R. Bowers Jr., chief, Fairfax Fire and Rescue Department, Fairfax County, Va.

-- John Price, program manager, First Responders Group, DHS Science and Technology Directorate

Media wanting to attend the event should contact John S. Verrico, chief of media relations for DHS's Science and Technology Directorate, at [email protected] or 202-254-2385.

For more information about NASA programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov

SOURCE NASA