Rescue Teams: The Search for Earthquake Survivors

With the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, rescuers try to use all possible animals or tools to reach survivors under the rubble, especially since search operations during these disasters are among the most difficult and complex rescue operations.

The rescuers in they previously relied on rats and cockroaches equipped with small cameras, mostly because they are in able to enter in places that cannot be seen or even hear voices calling for help.

robot

Furthermore, experts are turning to technology to help them in their research. Among them is the snake robot developed by researchers led by Motoyasu Tanaka of the Tokyo University of Electric Communication. He is a snake-like robot who can climb tall ladders and navigate in confined spaces.

The 1.7-meter (5.5-foot) long “snake” has 17 joints with distance sensors, Tanaka said, thanks to which the robot can tell whether each of its wheels is on the ground or suspended in air.

Researchers hope to use the device within 3 years, after conducting further research to improve the robot’s ability to fix its location in case of sudden movements during rescue missions in case of disaster.

Brands

In addition to the snake robot, rescuers are turning to drones to identify survivors, as the drone system can separate the living from the dead by detecting a slight movement of the victims’ chests.

UniSA University engineers in South Africa and the Intermediate Technical University of Baghdad have designed a computer vision system in able to distinguish survivors from corpses at a distance of 4-8 meters, using new technology to monitor vital signs remotely.

As long as the human upper body is visible, cameras can capture subtle movements in the chest cavity, which indicate heart rate and respiration. And unlike previous studies, the system isn’t dependent on changes in skin color or body temperature.

The professor Javan Chahel and Dr. Ali Al-Naji, the leaders of the studiomade global headlines in 2017 when they first demonstrated that a camera on a drone can measure heart and respiration rates.

“seeker”

The new technology of the US Space Agency (NASA) also managed to save 4 rescuers who were trapped under the rubble of the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, by detecting heartbeats.

Two pilot units of this system have been sent in Nepal in the days following the April 25 earthquake, the unit is called Personnel Search for Disaster and Emergency Response and is known as FINDER.

The Finder unit is the size of a handbag and is powered by a lithium battery. Send out low energy microwaves. The waves can detect subtle movements, such as a slight pulsation in the skin that detects a heartbeat. These waves can travel upwards to 30 feet 9 meters) in piles of rubble or 20 feet (6 meters) in solid concrete.

One of Finder’s advantages over microphones and other traditional search-and-rescue tools is that the person doesn’t have to be conscious to find it, just a wrist.

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