Evaluation of a Sensor System for Detecting Humans Trapped under Rubble: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Disaster response technology
• Search and rescue systems
• Sensor fusion for victim detection

Background:

• Timely localization of injured survivors is critical for effective disaster response.
• Existing methods may lack the precision or speed required for rapid victim identification.
• Advanced sensor technologies offer potential improvements in search and rescue efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel sensor system for detecting living victims in simulated disaster environments.
• To assess the individual and combined performance of CO₂ sensors, thermal cameras, and microphones.
• To develop and test an algorithm for recognizing human sounds under rubble.

Main Methods:

• Development of a sensor system integrating carbon dioxide (CO₂) detection, thermal imaging, and acoustic sensing.
• High-fidelity simulation of a disaster area for performance testing.
• Implementation and validation of a sound recognition algorithm for human vocalizations or noises.

Main Results:

• The CO₂ sensor effectively narrowed down the search area, improving localization efficiency.
• Thermal cameras accurately confirmed the position of victims within the reduced area.
• Microphones, when used with other sensors, showed significant potential for casualty detection, supported by the developed algorithm.

Conclusions:

• The integrated sensor system demonstrates a promising approach for enhancing the speed and accuracy of victim localization in disaster scenarios.
• Each sensor type contributes uniquely to the detection process, with synergistic benefits when combined.
• Further development and integration of acoustic sensing and algorithms can significantly improve search and rescue capabilities.