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January 6, 2006
New device senses through concrete walls
DARPA has developed a 1.5 pound, $1000 device that can detect a person breathing through a brick wall from 50 feet away.
From the article on Military.com:
"The new 'Radar Scope' will give warfighters searching a building the ability to tell within seconds if someone is in the next room... By simply holding the portable, handheld device up to a wall, users will be able to detect movements as small as breathing....
"The Radar Scope, developed by DARPA, is expected to be fielded to troops in Iraq as soon as this spring, Baranoski said. The device is likely to be fielded to the squad level, for use by troops going door to door in search of terrorists. The Radar Scope will give warfighters the capability to sense through a foot of concrete and 50 feet beyond that into a room, Baranoski explained.
It will bring to the fight what larger, commercially available motion detectors couldn't, he said. Weighing just a pound and a half, the Radar Scope will be about the size of a telephone handset and cost just about $1,000, making it light enough for a soldier to carry and inexpensive enough to be fielded widely. The Radar Scope will be waterproof and rugged, and will run on AA batteries, he said."
Learning of this device makes me want to read Anne Frank all over again.
Posted by Katherine Albrecht at January 6, 2006 8:57 AM
Comments
Do you listen to the radio, watch TV, or use a microwave oven? All these devices make use of electromagnetic waves. Radio waves, microwaves, visible light, and x rays are all examples of electromagnetic waves that differ from each other in wavelength.
Posted by: tim at January 6, 2006 7:40 PM
If it operates on radio waves like RFID, I believe people in copper mesh enclosures should be fine. Which is to say that if you're building a new house, put copper mesh all around your walls. It'll be hard for RFID to be picked up from outside.
Posted by: Noid at January 30, 2006 8:54 PM