While GPS is the natural choice for providing navigation in an outdoors environment, the urban environment places a significant challenge for positioning using GPS. The GPS signals can be significantly attenuated, and often completely blocked, inside buildings or in urban canyons. Personnel tracking inside buildings for improved command and control and rescue rates high on the list of priority needs prepared by the Department of Homeland Security for first responders.  Tracking fire fighters will allow for better tactical decisions and faster fire suppression, resulting in decreased property losses.

There is a huge utility to the Department of Homeland Security of such a 3D locator system. Potential Users of this Advanced 3-D Locator System are Federal, State, Local and Tribal incident responders and managers, DHS / Emergency Preparedness / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), all lead and supporting Federal agencies of the National Response Plan, Law Enforcement agencies and Fire Departments.

“As the events of 9-11 demonstrated, a vital element of situational awareness is the ability to clearly establish the location of all emergency responders during an emergency, whether they are in stairwells, on top of or outside of buildings, or underground in subway tunnels and stations. The 3-D Locator sensor promises to provide this much needed capability for our first responders,” notes Jalal Mapar, program manager at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.