麻豆淫院

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are hoping that a device the size of a business card will one day reduce the toll of human lives in disaster situations.

The team, known as WIISARD (Wireless Internet Information System for Medical Response in Disasters), is engaged in a proof-of-concept experiment at the UCSD division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) to demonstrate that small 2x4 inch radio frequency identification (RFID) tags can be used to track first responders inside burning buildings or other scenarios.

Normally, GPS is a more efficient way to track moving objects or people, 鈥渂ut GPS doesn鈥檛 work inside buildings,鈥� explains WIISARD Project Manager Alexandra Hubenko. 鈥淚f buildings had no metal in them, we wouldn鈥檛 have any problems, but metal interferes with GPS signals and prevents communication with line-of-sight satellites. Compounding that problem are a building鈥檚 multiple floors. With no line-of-sight satellites, there is no way to determine a person鈥檚 altitude, or what floor they are on.鈥�

That can be a problem for those monitoring the whereabouts of first responders, says Javier Rodriguez Molina, a programmer analyst for Calit2.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a necessity for the command center to know the location of their team in case of an incident, and in order to use their resources in the most efficient way possible,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚n the event something happens to one of their responders, they know exactly where they are and don鈥檛 have to go looking for them.鈥�

The WIISARD researchers, who are led by Calit2 Principal Development Engineers Doug Palmer and Don Kimball, hope their work-around will not only allow emergency responders to track their teams more efficiently, but also on the cheap. Their concept is to furnish buildings with strategically placed passive RFID tags -- similar to those embedded in modern library books -- and then equip responders with RFID 鈥渞eaders鈥� that send a signal every time they pass by a tag. The system鈥檚 accompanying user interface includes a map of each floor in the building, allowing those in the command center to accurately pinpoint the location of their roving team members at all times.

In contrast with GPS, radio-frequency signals are not impaired by the metal inside buildings and do not require line-of-sight satellites to function properly. Instead, the readers have three internal components: The reader apparatus itself, a Bluetooth interface and 802.11g interface (also known as WiFi)

鈥淭his way,鈥� says Molina, 鈥渢he reader can scan for RFIDs and send everything back through WiFi straight to the server. If the WiFi network dies, the Bluetooth interface is the back-up. The Bluetooth isn鈥檛 as long-range as WiFi and it鈥檚 slower, but with it you don鈥檛 need to worry about WiFi access points,鈥� which might be disabled in the event of a major disaster.

And the reader needn鈥檛 have a big, bulky battery, Molina adds, 鈥渂ecause firefighters only have one hour autonomy with oxygen tank.鈥�

WIISARD鈥檚 approach deviates from a previous methodology used in disaster scenarios: First responders wear RFID tags on their person and are tracked by readers scattered throughout a building. By turning that idea on its head and reducing the number of expensive readers required for tracking, the WIISARD team hopes to save public safety institutions money.

The only questions now are where in the building to place the RFID tags -- and where, amid all their heavy gear, the responders should wear the readers, which are about the size of two stacked Blackberry cell phones.

鈥淭he typical responder going into building is a firefighter wearing gloves, a respirator, a helmet, boots, breathing equipment --- and now they would have to wear this reader on top of everything else,鈥� notes Hubenko. 鈥淲e were considering placing it on their breathing apparatus, but a better idea is to place it on somewhere on their boot, because boots are close to the ground and heat rises.鈥�

That鈥檚 the same reason the ground -- or more precisely, the area underneath a building鈥檚 carpeting -- might prove to be the ideal placement for the RFID tags.

鈥淣ow the question becomes: Is this a new design consideration as new buildings are built?鈥� asks Hubenko. 鈥淒o you put the tags under the carpet, do you put them under the light switches?鈥�

For now, WIISARD has placed the prototype tags in various locations throughout Calit2鈥檚 UCSD headquarters at Atkinson Hall, where they are routinely tested as part of an iterative development cycle.

鈥淥nce in a while someone will walk around with a reader and do demos,鈥� says Molina. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working on scaling the device down so it鈥檚 more wearable. We test every time they make antenna smaller, for example, and we test to see if we can still track the tags efficiently if we put them at knee level. One thing we鈥檝e found is that as soon as we stick them on doors, something in the doors themselves reduces the capacity of reflection of the tags.鈥�

In November, the team plans to test its prototype system and get usability feedback from collaborators at the San Diego Naval Training Center. In the long-term, Hubenko says she could also see the RFID tags and readers used for other applications, such as supply or asset tracking.

鈥淲hen you think about it, though,鈥� she adds, 鈥渋n this application the assets are the first responders.鈥�