![](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18/G5LRLYI6YEU3TAOFJQQHECHRHQ.jpg?quality=85&w=1666)
![](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18/G5LRLYI6YEU3TAOFJQQHECHRHQ.jpg?quality=85&w=1666)
SWAT teams and rescue workers may soon take advantage of wireless networks to locate people moving around inside buildings.
We previously examined this nifty wireless concept that uses off-the-shelf technology to locate humans to within 3 feet on the other side of walls. Now the researchers have released a couple of awesome videos showing the person-tracking tech in action.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fzAzbmgL-d0/hqdefault.jpg)
The first video shows how a person’s body blocks radio waves and creates differing signal strengths that researchers can interpret and mark with an “X.” That leads to the second video where a researcher shows the node deployment outside a building, and eventually shows up as an “X” walking around inside the building layout.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ifQkbMJ_sXM/hqdefault.jpg)
Questions remain about the range and sensitivity of the radio node network, as well as how well this might work in a multi-level building. But the relative cost-effectiveness of the concept seems impressive enough, and the University of Utah researchers hope to eventually commercialize the idea.
Police might throw up such a network in dangerous hostage situations, for instance, so that they can plan out a possible breach and rescue operation if necessary. It’s still a far cry from The Dark Knight cell phone imaging system that allowed Batman to take down Joker henchmen and SWAT teams with equal ease, but it’s certainly a good start.
[via The Register]