The Echo SAR system will allow rescuers to track the phones of people in trouble

The Robotics Center company, together with Teledyne FLIR Defense, has developed the Echo SAR system, which turns drones into mobile radars. They will be able to detect signals from the mobile phones of disaster victims whose location is unknown. And thus, with maximum accuracy, direct rescuers to them.

Strictly speaking, Echo SAR is a modification of the already existing Artemis system from the British company Smith Myers. But Artemis is designed for manned aviation, it is a rather cumbersome system, whereas Echo SAR is adapted for use on small and light drones. The first models on which it was installed were Teledyne R80D SkyRaider and SkyRanger R70.

Echo SAR weighs only 1.04 kg, runs under Linux, carries 32 GB of memory on board. It is designed to operate in the temperature range from -20 to +50℃ and can detect any type of mobile phone signals without using a cellular connection. When a contact is established, the goal is automatically mapped, plus it is possible to send an SMS to the phone with a message that help is already close.

In addition to rescuing people from disaster zones and searching for those lost in the forest, the system can be used to identify violators. It will also become an auxiliary tool for the work of forest firefighters and will be useful for tracking the location of individual members of groups.