Emergency workers rely on CSIRO

IF contamination occurs at a nuclear facility in future, technology developed in Australia could be called upon to save the day.

CSIRO ICT centre principal research scientist Mark Hedley

CSIRO is fine-tuning existing wireless positioning and sensing technology called Precision Location System (PLS) for emergency situations where a global positioning system would not function.

PLS requires small, fixed base stations to be installed around the coverage area and a wireless device attached to the target(s).

The new systems would still rely on radio frequency to function but use a network of wireless nodes combined with sensors.

At a nuclear plant or building site that contains hazardous materials, fixed base stations are not the answer.

"In a multi-storey environment for example it's difficult to have base stations around the area so we need to form an ad-hoc network," Mark Hedley, CSIRO ICT centre principal research scientist, said.

Robots can be sent into an area of contamination to assess the situation and CSIRO's technology would be able to measure radiation levels and relay data back to a base station.

"The purpose is to rapidly and accurate identify areas of contamination and see how to rectify the situation," Dr Hedley said.

The technology will not necessarily be able to locate people trapped in an office building as sensors need to be attached to a target.

"Unless they want to go around carrying these devices, that's not the best use of the technology."

The research is expected to be completed in two years. "We'll have a prototype ready by 2010," Dr Hedley said.

CSIRO's work is being funded through the federal Government's Research Support for Counter Terrorism program, managed by the National Security Science and Technology (NSST) unit of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Around $1 million has been allocated to CSIRO, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency and NSST with more than half the amount going to the research body.

CSIRO hopes to commercialise the system thereafter and follow in the footsteps of PLS which is being marketed globally by Sydney firm Trantek to be used to track horse races in real-time.

Other CSIRO solutions that have been licensed to partners include emergency underground communications technology that allows miners to communicate with search and rescue teams during a crisis.