U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Through-Wall Surveillance for Locating Individuals Within Buildings: Final Scientific and Technical Report

NCJ Number
228898
Author(s)
Ivan Cowie
Date Published
August 2008
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on a acoustic-sonar based motion sensor.
Abstract
Law Enforcement personnel need a portable device that is able to sense individuals moving within buildings. Existing Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Radio-Wave radar technology cannot penetrate solid metal walls. Therefore, continuing the work from the study of sound through walls, Time Domain Corporation (TDC) developed an acoustic-sonar based motion sensor platform, which is able to sense motion of individuals through walls, including those made of metal. Adding TDC's previously developed UWB mono-static motion-sensing radar, which is based on TDC's existing radio hardware/software P210 device, enhanced this platform by being able to work through otherwise acoustically dead, non-metallic walls. The fusion of these two technologies provides sensing coverage that was previously unavailable than from either one alone. As a result of the new fused system, it should be possible to detect individuals in hiding behind walls or in shipping containers lessening the exposure of Law Enforcement personnel to danger. 9 figures, appendix, and 1 reference (Author Abstract)