The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), through the Joint (Justice-Defense) Program Steering Group (JPSG), is sponsoring Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in developing an inexpensive, handheld, low-power radar that will enable law officers to detect individuals through interior building walls. It works by sensing the motion of an individual's chest when they breath.
GTRI is currently designing and refining the first prototype unit. A laboratory test area has been constructed consisting of a section of home siding and drywall, a wooden front door, and a section of brick and mortar. The laboratory model shown here, was able to detect individuals through each of these materials. It also demonstrated the ability to detect an individual through the laboratory's cinder block walls. GTRI is working to combine the two parts of this device into a single unit. NIJ plans on demonstrating the Radar Flashlight with law enforcement agencies through its National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) (Southeast Regional Center) before the end of 1999.
Dr. Pete Nacci
Project Manager
Tel: (703) 351-8821
E-mail: pnacci@darpa.mil