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DOE News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2002

NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kathy Gatens, 208-526-1058, kzc@inel.gov

Technical contact: Kevin Young, (208) 526-1782, youngkl@inel.gov

INEEL engineer designs video camera for chem/bio response teams-a perfect stocking stuffer with batteries included

An engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has designed a nifty tool to help emergency response and civil support team members "see" a little better - the Hazmat Cam.

Hazmat Cam is a lightweight wireless video camera system that emergency team members carry to the incident scene. Housed in a tough, waterproof flashlight body about eight inches long, the camera system sends back real-time images to a video monitor, or computer at a command post located up to several miles from the incident area. Within the command post, the incident commander and other experts can then "see" exactly what the entry team is encountering.

Developing tools for America's emergency responders is one part of the INEEL's overall critical infrastructure protection program, in which technologies, systems and policies that protect the nation's core systems - such as energy, communications and transportation - are developed, tested and validated under real-world conditions.

Electrical engineer Kevin Young built several pilot versions during the past year and demonstrated system capabilities during civil response team field training and exercises. These highly successful demonstrations have resulted in sales of the novel system.

"I've listened to the different chem/bio teams during training exercises and at meetings and conferences," said Young. "The most important requirement for a camera is clean, clear, reliable video."

Young attributes Hazmat Cam's fidelity to its triple-antenna, true-diversity receiver. Traditional wireless video uses one antenna and a single receiver. The problem with this configuration is that signals multipath - they bounce off other structures, buildings, file cabinets, even people - on their way to the receiver. This causes interference and seriously degrades the video images. Since users of any hand-held wireless camera are constantly moving, the problem is compounded.

The Hazmat Cam receiver seeks the strongest signal from each of the three antennas and locks in this signal. It completes this scan over 1,000 times per second, much faster than a human viewer would notice. This triple-diversity receiver results in a clear, more reliable image even under less-than-perfect conditions, such as within metal buildings or concrete tunnels.

Hazmat Cam has other features that distinguish it from existing systems. Extension Link is a separate transmitter-and-receiver system that increases the operating range of Hazmat Cam two to three miles. It operates at higher power and has field-selectable channels to avoid interference at the longer distances.

The current version of Hazmat Cam also includes optional encryption so that, according to Young, electronic news media can't pick up the transmission and broadcast it on the evening news. This doesn't mean, however, that the transmission can't be shared among cooperating agencies. Agencies on the scene with properly configured Hazmat Cam receivers can all receive the same video transmission.

The INEEL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's missions in environment, energy, science and national security. The INEEL is operated for the DOE by Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC.

--INEEL--

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