Testing new technologies that help law enforcement ‘see’ through walls

S&T recently tested the performance of technologies like DePLife, which was upgraded with a motion compensation algorithm. Here, Lincoln Laboratory researcher Noah Yared holds a DePLife prototype. Photo: Lincoln Laboratory.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) completed the development of the Detection of Presence of Life (DePLife) technology, which leverages radar to "see" through walls, providing law enforcement with valuable intelligence and situational awareness in often precarious situations. Industry partner MaXentric Technologies LLC began sales this year to law enforcement agencies nationwide; already, several U.S. city and county agencies successfully tested and purchased DePLife. It has also been evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which is now in the process of purchasing units.

Looking ahead to future generations of through-wall scanning, S&T is collaborating with Lincoln Laboratory to upgrade DePLife and a similar technology, Analog Devices' Tinyrad, to withstand minor movements via motion compensation algorithms. The goal is to expand the number of use cases and tactical scenarios. DepLife technologies can be deployed by law enforcement and other personnel during operations.

"Before the Through Walls Mobile Sensing project started, technologies that could detect the presence of life through walls had to be stationary, or perhaps leaning on a wall to the room of interest," said S&T Program Manager Anthony Caracciolo. "But now, we are developing a tool that can withstand minor movements — hovering drone vibrations, light wind…even a responder’s breathing — while holding the device."