Saving precious lives is what RFID intends to achieve

Filed in archive Implementation on March 31, 2009

© AMagill

The only thing firefighters are unsure of when they come out after evacuating people from a building on fire is that there still could be somebody trapped inside but this terrible feeling will be taken care of very soon.

Being regarded as the Holy Grail of tracking systems, this RFID system would use a combination of RFID tags and wireless sensors. The responders would make it easier to pinpoint locations of trapped people within a few feet distance and make rescue operation a complete success.

People might be tracked either by their ID cards or RFIDs which get active only in case of an emergency. Sensors would be installed on the building walls and in case of an emergency the RFID signals would be transmitted to the fire or police department for immediate assistance. The cost of the sensors would depend upon the level of precision required and in case the emergency responders become disoriented the sensors installed would come to the rescue. In case of any problem the firefighting chief could give instructions from outside to its men so that rescue operations are not hampered and chances of any error are reduced. Researchers at University of Pittsburgh are also working on a computer program which would make it possible to find out how many workers had used keys for entering the building before fire erupted.

Once implemented this system would ensure that no precious lives are lost in case any disaster strikes as this system is expected to offer precision of a higher level. It has already been tested successfully and with another major test scheduled at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts this could ensure that the system may hit the market pretty soon. I feel firefighting departments across the world would surely be keeping a watch on the developments in this regard.