Daylife photo by Paul A. Wilson
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National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers successfully demonstrated a prototype approach to maintain two-way communications with first responders as they make their way in building fires, and mine and tunnel collapses. These and other disasters in enclosed environments are often rife with radio dead spots and conditions that can severely weaken signals.
On Aug. 5, NIST information technology experts put their version of a “breadcrumb communication system” through its paces. The system is highly automated so that it can be deployed on the fly. It features “smart” multihop relays—sometimes referred to as “breadcrumbs”—that, in effect, advise first responders when to place the next device so as to extend the communications range.
Assembled from off-the-shelf microprocessors and other standard hardware, the relays incorporate NIST-developed software that monitors the status of radio communication signals. The algorithms embedded in the software rapidly assess the strength of received signals so that the device can automatically alert first responders to lay down the next relay before they walk out of range and lose the radio signal.
Cripes! A sensible solution.
Not at all a bad idea….
However, when the bureaucrats figure out that these devices cost more than a buck or two, and start asking for ten pages of paperwork and GPS coordinates (so they can be recovered), you can guess what’ll happen.
Regards
If the “breadcrumbs” cost a buck or two (that’s feasible if they’re mass produced from relatively cheap electronics), and maybe 20 of them are used in fighting a fire, that’s still way cheaper than paying for a firefighter’s funeral and death benefit.
If the bureaucrats complain about losing the relays, send them into a burning building without breadcrumbs.
UHF radios pack a serious punch in terms of wattage and penetrability. They are tried and tested and easy to use. This disposable repeater network, will it really make a difference? If a repeater link gets burned and the network goes down, what will the firemen do? Leave? Unless it’s only used for mines, I find it complicates things for not much gain. UHF radios can cut through allot of buildings!
So, it’s a mobile “mesh” network. Cell phone manufacturers and telcos have toyed with the concept for a while, as a way to offer deeper penetration of 3G services into buildings and weak signal areas. It’s hampered by the fact that they can’t assure that a service will always be available, it’s dependant upon a threshold number of meshed cells being in range.