IoT sensor system helps life detection under earthquake ruins

[ China Instrument Network Instrument Development ] According to reports, researchers in Austria, Switzerland and Cyprus are developing a sensor that can "sniff" the life characteristics of people under the rubble after the earthquake.

In the past few years, Mexico, Nepal and Italy have been hit by major earthquakes, and the hurricane has caused serious similar damage. Despite great advances in search and rescue equipment and predictive technology, most search and rescue personnel still have to use brute force, hearing, and sometimes simple guessing when looking for survivors.

In the past decade alone, the earthquake has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and these numbers have increased as the population density of the city has increased, especially in cities on the fault zone, such as San Francisco, Delhi and Tokyo.

Dog inspiration

For many years, search and rescue dogs have been performing search and rescue missions. They are sensitive enough to recognize human odors and lead rescuers to find trapped people. But this method also has drawbacks, such as when they work in the field, they are easily affected by factors such as stress and fatigue.

A team of researchers from the Federal University of Technology in Zurich, Innsbruck and the University of Cyprus took inspiration from the ability of canines to sniff out signs of life and jointly developed an IoT sensor system capable of extracting human odors.

The sensor array is designed to monitor metabolic tracers of human breathing and skin release, including acetone, ammonia, isoprene, CO2, and relative humidity (RH). Together they serve as complex signs of life.

The array consists of three nanostructured metal oxide sensors, each designed to achieve high sensitivity and selective tracer readings while working with CO2 and humidity sensors.

Earthquake rescue can be done by hand or unmanned

According to the joint report, "cheap sensor arrays... can be easily integrated into handheld or even drone-borne detectors for search and rescue personnel to quickly screen affected areas."

The future of this technology combined with drones is very bright. This will enable the search and rescue team to scan larger areas at a faster rate, and once the human vital signs are detected, they can be rescued in time.

Andreas Gunner wrote in the research report of the overview project that the IoT sensor array developed by the team has much in common with the technology for analyzing air quality:

Sensor arrays can be very compact, inexpensive, and have been used as portable devices for indoor air quality, food spoilage monitoring, or medical breath analysis. Even drones or ground robots can carry these array sensors to quickly screen disaster-affected areas that are too dangerous for search and rescue personnel.

Industry perspective

Drones have proven their worth in disaster relief. Since earthquakes and other natural disasters often confuse local infrastructure, air search and rescue may be the only viable option. The opportunity to combine a dog-style olfactory sensor with a drone or other mobile device is certainly worth pursuing.

Combining this technology with a drone that supports thermal imaging, even with airdrop replenishment, will be a valuable disaster relief tool.

(Original title: IoT canine olfactory sensor detects life under earthquake ruins)