Things are undeniably bad in New Orleans, and getting worse. But for the areas in New Orleans where search and rescue operations are continuing, and for the other devastated cities along the Gulf Coast, help is coming from new, high-tech gadgets and the researchers who figure out how to use them for urban search and rescue operations. Some of the gadgets and tools have been tested in New York after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, others have been used in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and still others haven't been used before now.
"It's not us saving people. It's us getting the technology to the people who will use it to save people," explained Robin Murphy, a professor at the University of South Florida who directs the Institute for Safety Security Rescue Technology. "I always hate it when I hear people saying that we think we're rescuers. We're not. We're scientists. That's our role."
Murphy and her USF team are heading to New Orleans to link up with Louisiana State University's Fire Emergency Training Institute and put their tools to the test. The tool kit sounds like a laundry list for 21st-century tech:
Pint-size robots that can move through crevices in a collapsed building to bring water, light and two-way communications to trapped survivors. Murphy's team tested such devices in the wreckage of New York's World Trade Center after the terror attacks.
Three-foot-long (1-meter-long) robot planes and helicopters that can survey the scene from above and send wireless video back to the team in the field.
Night-vision sensor systems that can throw a virtual spotlight on objects, producing crisp black-and-white imagery while leaving the scene in total darkness.
"Triage sensors" that can detect signs of life from 3 feet away, based on thermal imaging or even the smell of a survivor's faint breathing. "We've got the first prototype for that up and running, and the commercial versions come out at the end of September," Murphy said.
Some tech companies are getting directly involved in the relief efforts, as well. A representative from Cisco posted a message on the web site for the National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue, offering assistance and explaining what they're doing now.
We have Tactical Operations that is getting together some mobile communications kits, our sales teams are contacting Critical Infrastructure clients (hospitals, public safety, govt, etc) to get an idea of what they need, our Corporate Philanthropy is matching donations (100%) to the Red Cross, and we are pulling together volunteers to get trained by the Red Cross this week, to travel and be on site next week.
Nobody knows what the situation will be like in New Orleans once the teams get there and relief efforts start getting into high gear, but at least the relief teams still working by then will have the best equipment available.
To help, contact the American Red Cross. You can donate on their web site or over the phone at (800) HELP NOW (435-7669). Donations of cash are far more flexible than in-kind donations and are therefore preferred. The American Red Cross has mobilized thousands of volunteers to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and is sending close to 2,000 volunteers in the area to begin the initial response over the next few days.
bean
STAFF
Los Angeles, CA
SEP 01, 2005 01:26 PM