 NASA engineers have built a device that uses radar to detect heartbeats in the rubble of collapsed buildings, with technology typically used to explore other planets. The government agencies have been testing prototypes of this device for the last several months, and now they expect the first commercialized model of the product to be available by spring of 2014. Recent improvements in the design include a lightweight core, USB antenna and increased battery life of up to 14 hours. The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, Washington, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have developed a new radar-based technology named Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response, or FINDER. So far they’ve tested the unit in more than 65 simulated disasters with two Urban Search and Rescue Teams: The Virginia Task Force 1 at the Fairfax County Fire Department training center, and the Virginia Task Force 2 in Virginia Beach, Va. 
 
 Their goal was to create a tool that these teams could use to find signs of life in catastrophic situations. FINDER was created to detect a human heartbeat buried beneath 30 feet (9 meters) of crushed material, hidden behind 20 feet (6 meters) of solid concrete, and from a distance of 100 feet (30 meters) in open space. In June, DHS and first responders used a prototype to conduct more than 65 test searches with two Urban Search and Rescue teams: the Virginia Task Force 1 at the Fairfax County Fire Department training center, and the Virginia Task Force 2 in Virginia Beach, Va. 
 
 "Testing proved successful in locating a task force member buried in 30 feet of mixed concrete, rebar and gravel rubble from a distance of over 30 feet," said John Price, DHS Science and Technology program manager. “This capability will complement the current urban search and rescue tools such as canines, listening devices and video cameras to detect the presence of living victims in rubble.” 
 
 The duo of the DHS and JPL seems to be a good fit in more ways than one. As for how they differentiate a signal potentially filled with heartbeats and breathing from other random movements (like a tree rustling), researchers use a technique called signal processing – something engineers at JPL are well-versed in, Lux said. The FINDER device, developed with the Department of Homeland Security, could help search-and-rescue teams find survivors trapped underneath the wreckage – even when those victims can’t call for help. It’s also smart enough to know if it’s “hearing” a human heartbeat or the heartbeat of some other living thing, such as a rat. These processing systems allow search and rescue operators to quickly understand if any survivors are trapped underneath slabs of concrete and debris and allow them to begin the process of extracting them. The mechanical and electronic design has evolved with the core being a lightweight sensing module that uses a USB interface to integrate an antenna, radar electronics and digital processing.
– NASA engineers have dreamed up and built a new device that could help rescuers save lots more lives after earthquakes or other disasters: It's essentially a radar gun that detects heartbeats under heaps of concrete and steel, reports Red Orbit. The FINDER device is portable at 20 pounds, and its microwaves penetrate rubble to pick up on the slightest of movements—even the breathing of an unconscious victim. But it's also smart enough to distinguish the breathing of a human from say, a rat, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, which developed the device with the Department of Homeland Security. The LA Times explains the process: "Unlike the rubble, the victim is actually moving rhythmically. The chest rises and falls as the victim breathes, and moves from heartbeats—and the head moves as the veins on the scalp fill and empty out." That movement "creates slight differences in timing when the waves bounce back, which the device can pick up." Tests this week in Virginia at a simulated disaster area went well, reports National Geographic, though it quotes one specialist as saying the device needs to provide information faster. After more tweaks, the FINDER is expected to be on the market next spring or summer for about $10,000. Another potential use cited by JPL: finding a kid lost in the woods. (Click to read about how an earthquake in Pakistan this week created a new island.)