l-Detect: Life Detection Under Debris in Disaster Zones

Poola, L and John, LH and Godkhindi, SS and Reddy, P and Rao, DP and Prabhakar, TV and Prasad, RV (2024) l-Detect: Life Detection Under Debris in Disaster Zones. In: UNSPECIFIED, pp. 345-352.

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Abstract

The recent spate of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods destroyed buildings and caused loss of lives. Many times, the loss of life is attributed to slow response and not being able to reach the survivors. In such scenarios, the staggering number of deaths in the aftermath of a disaster can be reduced if information about survivors under debris is available to first responders and rescue workers. Large-scale destruction of roads and other communication infrastructure makes it hard to deploy advanced technologies for life detection. We explore the possibility of using low-cost, low-power, short-range communication technologies to assist rescue personnel in locating life under debris. We have designed and prototyped a thermopile-based sensor and communication device that provides information about the presence of survivors. The system weighs under 20 gm and costs US 30 per unit. The device can easily be fitted on battery-powered toy bugs and robots that can autonomously maneuver under the debris. We have proposed three simple algorithms, which together detect humans with 100 to 88 accuracy for 0.5 to 4.5 m range with fewer false alarms. Our evaluation shows that the detection is robust enough under several harsh ambient conditions, temperature ranges as well and partial exposure of the human body. © 2024 IEEE.

Item Type:	Conference Paper
Publication:	2024 16th International Conference on COMmunication Systems and NETworkS, COMSNETS 2024
Publisher:	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Department/Centre:	Division of Electrical Sciences > Electronic Systems Engineering (Formerly Centre for Electronic Design & Technology)
Date Deposited:	14 May 2024 11:42
Last Modified:	14 May 2024 11:42
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/84447

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