The Duluth News Tribune wrote last week about a communication device which could be a lifesaver for miners. This invention is the brainchild of David Reagor, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). His prototype radio works at depths of 500 feet and is based on very low frequency electromagnetic radiation and digital signal processors. A commercial version is in the works and could be used not only by workers trapped in a mine, but also by firefighters and other emergency workers to communicate with people in collapsed buildings or subways. Read more...
A previous article published by innovation, "Mine Fatalities Could be Reduced," describes the problem faced by mining companies when an accident happens.
In light of recent mining tragedies, many mining companies are re-energizing their efforts to explore new technologies that provide wireless communication and tracking capabilities. One of the technologies these companies may soon be looking at is the Underground Radio, a novel device that would enable two-way communication through hundreds of feet of rock or earth. The Underground Radio was originally developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory by physicist David Reagor.
Below is a photograph of David Reagor during underground trials of his radio (Credit: LANL).
The Underground Radio uses very low frequency (VLF) electromagnetic radiation to carry voice and text data. Digital audio compression technology running on a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) then reduces that data to a bandwidth of less than one kilohertz, and advanced DSP techniques used in the system overcome typical low-frequency propagation problems, such as dispersion, multi-pathing, interference noise and phase delay. The VLF signals can also be triangulated, allowing users on the surface to track and locate radio users in the case that they are unable to respond.
Below is a diagram showing "several radios that are a small part of a projected commercial installation" (Credit: David Reagor). Underground radio stations appear in red while conventional surface radios appear in red; the through-the-earth radio links and the conventional radio links are respectively represented by dark and light lines with arrows.
The station on the surface can then be placed directly on a network and, with appropriate security measures, be accessed over the internet. The full mine system would have a number of surface units at convenient locations for redundancy. The underground base stations could include sensors for CO, methane, etc. and those can be read out as part of the communications.
Now, let's return to the Duluth News Tribune article which tells us that this prototype is being commercially developed by Vital Alert Communication of Huntsville, Ontario. But according to Reagor, "due to the relatively small market in mining it is likely that federal funding will be required to transition this technology into a high performance commercial product."
But as the market for such a device is not limited to the mining industry, it's possible that the commercial version of this radio might become available this summer. Here are some possible applications for this underground radio.
Firefighters and other emergency workers could also use the device for rescues from collapsed buildings or subways. Communication problems hindered rescue operations after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the London subway bombings in July 2005.
For more information, you can read a document written by David Reagor about Underground Wireless Communications (PDF format, 3 pages, 485 KB) from which the above diagram and the quote about federal funding have been extracted.
Sources: Lee Bloomquist, Duluth News Tribune, via St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 4, 2006; Erica Sullivan, LANL Technology Transfer staff, innovation, New Mexico, April/May 2006; and various web sites
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