COPS HAVE EYES ON X-RAY VISION

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New Technology Would Let Police See Though Walls
June 4, 1999
By Hans H. Chen
NEW YORK (APBnews.com) -- After failing for 19 hours to flush an armed
man high on methamphetamine from a Los Angeles warehouse, sheriff's
deputies made the decision they always dread -- bust in and take him
out.
They had no idea where in the cavernous facility Daniel Lawrence
Collins had holed up, and no way to find out. They knew he would have
the drop on the strike team, and they were right. Collins opened fire
with an SKS assault rifle from behind a bathroom door, injuring three
deputies.
What the deputies need -- and what they soon may get -- is X-ray
vision.
A force multiplier
Three high-tech labs are in the final stages of developing a new form
of radar device that can see through walls by broadcasting radio
signals across broad bands of the spectrum to pinpoint a hidden
suspect. Based on military technology, the products still need
government approval and won't go on the market for at least a few more
months.
But police who have tried various versions of the new radar scanners
like what they see -- and what the product developers are telling
them.
"One of the exciting things about this is that it's kind of like a
force multiplier," said Elise Taylor, a spokeswoman for Time Domain,
an Alabama company that developed a through-the-wall surveillance
system called RadarVision. "It allows you to tell what's going on
inside a building without actually having to look through a window or
be inside the room."
See breathing through wood
Time Domain's product can detect breathing through wood, plaster or
concrete from 20 feet away. By reading an LCD panel on the front of
the chunky, 16-pound unit, police officers will know the exact
location of their quarry.
"Especially with something that is as efficient as this in detecting
motion behind a door or wall, the police definitely need something
like that," said Jim Ball, a program manager for the National
Institute of Justice's Office of Law Enforcement Technology
Commercialization who is helping Time Domain bring the product to
market. "It's high priority."
Time Domain has developed 20 prototypes and is still working on
reducing the size of the unit, Ball said.
100-foot range
Time Domain isn't the only company working on X-ray vision for cops.
After that June 11, 1997, standoff, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Office started looking into the new technology and came across defense
contractor Raytheon and its MARS system, or Motion and Ranging Sensor.
The company promises MARS will spot a lurking fugitive 100 feet away.
That kind of range -- achieved by adapting military missile guidance
technology -- is enough to find someone hiding two stories up inside a
building.
"If they're in the bushes, all they have to do is scratch their butt
and you'll pick them up," said Larry Frazier, a Raytheon senior
scientist who developed the MARS system.
SWAT teams from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and Albuquerque,
N.M., Police Department have been working with demonstration models of
the MARS system.
"This particular technology allows us to see through walls and has
great promise because we can find where the suspect is and enter into
an area where we're not going to be confronted by him," said Lt. Sid
Heal, who researches new technology for the Los Angeles Sheriff's
Department. "Sometimes it's as important to know where a suspect isn't
as where he is."
Radar flashlight
Scientists at Georgia Tech are working on a third system -- a
lightweight through-the-wall radar system that fits inside a
flashlight. With a range of about 40 feet, Georgia Tech's "radar
flashlight" displays less information than the other two devices.
Initially developed so Army medics could tell if soldiers stranded on
a battlefield were still breathing, the radar flashlight can detect,
from certain angles, a human heartbeat, say its inventors.
When the radar flashlight detects a human movement, the display is
simple -- as simple, perhaps, as two lights on top of the unit. A red
light means there's someone there.
This simplicity has the advantage of being cheaper than the other
systems. The MARS units are expected to cost $5,000 to $10,000. Time
Domain doesn't disclose the cost of its device. At $500, the radar
flashlight may be more practical for cash-strapped police departments.
"We're trying to reach every policeman on the beat," said Gene
Greneker, the scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute who
developed the radar flashlight. "Police departments don't have a lot
of money for technology."
Federal approval required
Cost might not be the only thing keeping these technologies off the
market. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates
all commercial radar, radio and television broadcasts, is holding up
the technology because of concerns that the devices may interfere with
existing radar transmissions.
Conventional radar bounces continuous waves of energy, at a fixed
frequency, at a target. The Raytheon and Time Domain devices use
something called ultra wide-band radar, sending out low-level bursts
of energy across many frequencies. Because they carry such little
power, the companies say the bursts cause minimal interference to
other signals, but the FCC has yet to approve ultra wide-band
transmissions.
Time Domain, Raytheon and other companies with a stake in this
technology said they expected the FCC to make a decision by this
summer. Time Domain said it would like to begin selling units this
year. Time Domain founder Ralph Petroff told APBNews.com that he
expected the federal government to grant his company a waiver soon
that would allow it to distribute 2,500 of its devices to accredited
public safety agencies.
Raytheon wants to have its products on the market by the beginning of
next year.
The demand for these products is high, and the National Institute of
Justice has placed through-the-wall surveillance at the top of its
scientific funding priority list for the past two years. Law
enforcement officials and the companies themselves say the need for
the new products is obvious, and they may help police officers survive
deadly situations.
"I think once they learn how to use it, it'll be as valuable as their
guns," Frazier said.
RADAR FLASHLIGHT FOR THROUGH-THE-WALL DETECTION OF HUMANS
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Eugene F. Greneker
Radar Systems Division, Surface Systems Branch
Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0856
Abstract:
Prior to the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia, several versions
of a radar vital signs monitor (RVSM) were developed by Georgia Tech
Research Institute researchers. The most recent version RVSM was
developed to measure the heart rate of Olympic rifle and bow and arrow
See related paper: RADAR Flashlight for Through-the-Wall Detection of
Humans
competitors to determine if their training allowed them to the detect
their heartbeats and if so, whether they were capable of using that
training to avoid an approximate 5 milliradian movement of the bow or
rifle that occurs each time the heart beats. The RVSM that was
developed was tested to detect the shooter's heartbeat at a distance
of 10 meters without the requirement of a physical connection to the
subject. It was found that a second channel could be added to the RVSM
to detect the shooter's respiration rate from a distance of 20 meters
without physical connection between the RVSM and the shooter.
The RADAR Flashlight, a spin-off of these predecessor systems
developed at GTRI, is the topic of this paper. The RADAR Flashlight
was designed to detect the respiration of a human subject behind a
wall, door or an enclosed space with non-conductive walls. The use of
the system as a foliage penetration radar has also been explored. It
has been determined that the RADAR Flashlight is capable of detecting
a human hiding within a tree line behind light foliage. This paper
describes the current status of the RADAR Flashlight and presents
typical test data produced when the system is operated in the
laboratory environment.
1. History of System Development:
The RADAR Flashlight results from technology developed during several
research projects conducted at GTRI over the past 10 years to detect
respiration and heartbeat signatures from individuals at a distance
and without connections. The first GTRI RVSM system was developed in
the mid-1980s under sponsorship of the United States Department of
Defense (DOD). A patent on the system was issued in 1992. This
frequency modulated (FM) radar was used as a battlefield vital signs
monitor. It was designed to be used during live fire situations to
determine if a wounded soldier was alive before risking a corpsman's
life to treat him. The design goal of that system was a capability to
detect heartbeat and respiration at distances of 100 meters. The
system was also tested on soldiers wearing a chemical or biological
warfare suit to allow vital signs to be monitored without opening the
suit and risking contamination of the subject. The latest RVSM, to be
briefly discussed in this paper, was developed by the author for use
in the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia. A variant called the
RADAR Flashlight, which is the primary subject of this paper, was
developed for use by law enforcement personnel to detect individuals
concealed behind a wall or within an enclosed space.
2. The RVSM Developed for Olympic Application:
The operation of the Olympic model RVSM was addressed in a paper that
was presented at AeroSense 97.1 Specifically, the RVSM was developed
because it had been proposed that some Olympic archers and rifle
competitors shoot between their heartbeats to avoid an approximate 5
milliradian movement of the arms and body. If this was true, their
shooting between heartbeats would provide better accuracy. A system to
detect a heartbeat at a distance was proposed and a prototype RVSM was
built to demonstrate the finely honed skills of the Olympic
competitors. It was envisioned that the demonstration RVSM would be of
interest to the television networks covering these competitions. Next,
several system requirements were developed. The operation of the
system could not distract the competitors. To meet this challenge, the
radar was designed to be located at least 10 meters from the
competitors, under a radome, and mounted on a pan-tilt positioner. A
charged coupled low light level television camera was boresighted with
the antenna for aiming the system at the thorax of the shooters under
study. The system also required low sidelobes to avoid detection
motion artifacts from the event judges who would observe the shooters
during competition.
3. Radar Vital Signs Heartbeat Signature:
Figure 1 shows the a typical heartbeat signature that has been sensed
by the RVSM built for the Olympics. Referring to Figure 1, the subject
was seated in the laboratory approximately 3 meters from the RVSM. The
RVSM antenna was boresighted on the thorax region of the subject's
chest.
It is thought that the signature that is detected by the RVSM is the
shock wave propagating from the beating heart as it spreads across the
thorax region of the chest wall rather than the detection of the
movement of the beating heart. Studies have shown that there is little
penetration of the chest wall by radio frequency (RF) energy at 24.1
GHz at the low power densities of 0.1 milliwatt/CM2, which is typical
of those produced by the RVSM at a range of 3 meters. It is thought
that this shock wave is the same phenomenon that is heard by a health
care provider using a stethoscope. The heartbeat signature shown in
Figure 1 is relatively complex, indicating that there are numerous
frequencies in the signature. When the digital recording from which
the Figure 1 plot was taken is fed into a digital to analog converter
and the subsequent output is fed to the input of an audio amplifier
with good bass response, the sound that is heard in the speaker is
very similar to the heartbeat sounds that are heard with a
stethoscope.
The capability of the RVSM to provide heart and respiration rate in
addition to heart sounds suggests some interesting applications for
the technology. These possible applications include a monitor for
telemedicine that does not require the connection of electrodes to the
patient. Physically or mentally challenged patients would only be
required to sit in front of a table top monitor to have their heart
and respiration rates taken. Burn wards could use the system to take
vital signs of patients without skin for electrode attachment.
Other applications that have been investigated for the RVSM include
using it to detect persons hiding in light foliage several feet behind
a chain link fence. The use of the RVSM as a stress measurement system
has also been investigated. It was found that a change in the
heartbeat rate of a human as small as 3 heartbeats per minute is
measurable. This capability has law enforcement applications. It was
during the evaluation of law enforcement applications that the concept
of the RADAR Flashlight was developed.
The RADAR Flashlight was developed to be a law enforcement tool. It
can detect the respiration signature of an individual standing up to 5
meters behind an 20 centimeter hollow core concrete block wall and
wooden doors typical of those found on most homes and which are almost
transparent to the system. Dry plywood, particle board and wall board
do not attenuate the signal significantly.
Most system applications for the RADAR Flashlight involve inspection
of spaces beyond a door or wall. For example, the system could be used
to determine if a subject is standing behind a door without a
requirement that the door be opened. This technique could be used to
detect a subject behind a front door who fails to answer a knock. It
can also be used to inspect a closed space such as an interior closet.
Normally, the closet would have to be opened to determine if someone
was hiding inside.
4. Operational Theory and Design:
Figure 2 is a photograph of the current version of the laboratory
prototype RADAR Flashlight. Referring to Figure 2, the system is
housed in a flashlight shaped enclosure. The radar is mounted in the
front of the housing, and the system's microwave lens, used to "shape"
the antenna beam, is installed in the position of the optical lens
normally found on a standard flashlight. The battery compartment is
longer than those found on a normal flashlight. It is currently
planned that the system's signal processor and rechargeable batteries
will be housed in the extended battery compartment once the current
laboratory prototype is reduced to a field testable prototype.
The current external signal processor used with the laboratory
prototype is shown in Figure 2 as the printed circuit board to the
left of the RADAR Flashlight. No attempt has been made to miniaturize
this signal processor which is currently used to filter the
respiration signature from other signals caused by radar self motion,
fluorescent lights and other clutter effects. The laboratory prototype
unit shown in Figure 2 operates on a frequency near 10.525 GHz,
although an earlier version of the system was operated at 24.1 GHz and
demonstrated less sensitivity to motion through a 20 centimeter hollow
brick block wall. The current laboratory prototype is a homodyne radar
configuration, although a frequency modulated continuous wave (FM-CW)
system could be used for applications where information is required to
determine the range to the target. The current laboratory prototype
operates in the near field region of the antenna for most through the
wall detection scenarios.
The current laboratory system signal processor (shown in Figure 2)
processes the respiration signal and the associated signal in the time
domain so that the time domain record is preserved. The processor
essentially acts as a low pass filter with the cut off frequency
shoulder just above the highest respiration frequencies that are
expected. This first filter rejects most of the ambient clutter
sources such as fluorescent lights. The analog time domain signal is
fed into an analog to digital converter hosted by a laboratory
computer where the input signal is converted into a 12 bit analog word
and displayed on a computer generated strip chart recording. Once in
digital format, the signal can be subjected to more rigorous
processing to retrieve the respiration signal under heavy clutter
conditions including those due to body motion and other artifacts.
Figure 3 is a recording of a respiration signature that was taken by
the RADAR Flashlight located 24 centimeters from a hollow core 20
centimeter thick concrete building block wall. The subject was
instructed to stand 1.8 meters beyond the brick wall and not to move
once in position but to breathe normally. The RADAR Flashlight's beam
projected through the wall and was approximately centered on the
thorax region of the subject's chest.
Referring to Figure 3, time moves from left to right. The ambient
signal level without a subject in the beam is shown as point A. The
point at which the subject enters the beam is shown as point B. Upon
the subject's entry into the beam, there is a large downward shift in
signal level. The shift occurs because the detector is D.C. coupled to
the first stage of the signal preamplifier. As a result, there is a
shift in the level of the signal due to a change in phase along the
signal path caused by the placement of the subject's body into the
beam. Points C, D, E, F and G are negative excursions caused by the
movement of the chest wall toward the radar during respiration. The
subject was told to breathe once approximately every five seconds and
the record shows that this instruction was followed. The subject steps
out of the beam at approximately 52 seconds. The signal level returns
to the ambient level at point H. There was a D.C. level drift of
approximately 230 millivolts over the 60 second period during which
the test was conducted. This signal drift would not normally appear
because the output of the detector would be A.C. coupled through a
D.C. blocking capacitor between the detector diode and the
preamplifier input.
5. Design Philosophy:
The RADAR Flashlight will detect the body movement of a subject at
longer ranges than those at which the respiration signature can be
detected when the subject is stationary. Total body motion presents a
much larger Doppler modulated radar cross section than the small
respiration induced movement of the chest wall. Unfortunately, when
the RADAR Flashlight is used for law enforcement applications, the
subject can not be depended upon to voluntarily move during the search
process. Thus, the detection of the involuntary respiration signature
is necessary to ensure that the motionless subject can be detected.
Several system utilization scenarios have been developed for the RADAR
Flashlight. When a fugitive warrant is being executed, interior
closets are often the hiding places of choice for individuals who are
sometimes armed and dangerous. It is the duty of those serving the
warrant to open each closet door and inspect the interior space. This
requirement puts the law enforcement personnel at a disadvantage. The
RADAR Flashlight can detect fugitives or others hiding in a closet
without requiring that the closet door be opened to complete the
inspection.
During a hostage situation it may be possible to determine where in a
room the hostages are located and it may also be possible to determine
where the hostage takers are located at any given time, assuming that
the usual hostage scenarios are followed. Hostages are usually closely
controlled and may be physically restrained or under duress to prevent
their escape. Thus, a hostage is generally not moving but will be
breathing. The hostage taker may be highly mobile and may move from
room to room to inspect his or her defenses, communicate with police,
and continually assess the environment. There are exceptions, however,
but if this scenario is the case even 50 percent of the time, the
RADAR Flashlight may be able to help determine the location of the
hostage taker(s) and determine the location of the hostages. It is
envisioned that a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team
(SWATT) would take a position against the outside wall of the room of
interest. The SWATT member would attempt to first detect motion and
later detect respiration in a more careful search. The RADAR
Flashlight would be scanned slowly across the room.
Warrant servers are required to go to a home or business to serve
warrants on persons who in many cases do not want to accept the
warrant or even let the server know that they are present. This is
especially true when the individual will go to jail if they are
discovered. The RADAR Flashlight could help determine if there is an
individual behind the door but not answering the door.
6. Real World Requirements for System Acceptance:
The system must be inexpensive to produce in large quantities and in
the same price range as a top end weapon carried by a law enforcement
officer. Thus, a target price for the RADAR Flashlight product was set
at between $300 and $500. It is thought that the most expensive part
of the system would be the RF section followed by the digital signal
processor. If future marketing studies should determine that high
sales volumes can be achieved, the parts count in the system can be
reduced significantly by implementing the system in a chip set. The
cost of converting the system to a chip set would be amortized over
the high number of systems sold.
There is a requirement that the system should be capable of being
operated by a relatively unskilled operator. This requirement
suggested that the packaging of the system was important and that the
associated signal processor should be "smart" and make many of the
decisions regarding target identification for the operator. Given this
requirement, a flashlight configuration was adopted as a housing. The
final form of the target display has not yet been determined, although
a simple display would appear to be an acceptable option.
7. Steps Toward Commercialization:
The RADAR Flashlight is currently a laboratory instrument and, as
such, is not designed to be used while in motion. When the RADAR
Flashlight is in motion it receives Doppler shifted signals that are
generated from its own motion referenced to fixed objects in front of
the sensor. Depending on the radar cross section of the "radar
clutter," the clutter return can be very large compared to the small
return from the chest motion generated by respiration. GTRI has
developed two approaches to achieve cancellation of the self motion of
the RADAR Flashlight. Research must still be conducted to determine
which self motion technique is most effective and to develop the self
motion cancellation algorithms.
GTRI has developed a research plan to take the RADAR Flashlight from
the laboratory prototype to a field testable prototype. After field
testing, it is anticipated that deficiencies will be found that must
be corrected. After deficiency corrections are undertaken the system
will be licensed to a manufacturer to produce as a product. The next
challenge is to find the manufacturer capable of producing a quality
product and also capable of funding the research that remains to
transition the RADAR Flashlight from a laboratory prototype to a
pre-production prototype.
8. Reference:
1. E. F. Greneker, "Radar Sensing of Heartbeat and Respiration at a
Distance with Security Applications," Proceedings of SPIE, Radar
Sensor Technology II, Volume 3066, Orlando, Florida, pp. 22-27, April,
1997.
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For More Information, Contact:
Eugene F. Greneker
Radar Systems Division, Surface Systems Branch
Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0856
Phone: (770) 528-7744
E-mail: gene.greneker@gtri.gatech.edu