First responders could boost their radio communications quickly at a disaster site by setting out just four extra transmitters in a random arrangement to significantly increase the signal power at the receiver, according to theoretical analyses, simulations and proof-of-concept experiments performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The NIST work, described in a forthcoming paper,* may provide a practical solution to a common problem in emergency communications. The vast amount of metal and steel-reinforced concrete in buildings and rubble often interferes with or blocks radio signals. This was one factor in the many emergency communications difficulties during the response to the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
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