Aoki, Y. and Sakai, M.

Paper:

Human and Object Detection in Smoke-Filled Space Using

Millimeter-Wave Radar Based Measurement
Yoshimitsu Aoki and Masaki Sakai
Shibaura Institute of Technology
3-7-5 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: yaoki@sic.shibaura-it.ac.jp
[Received April 7, 2006; accepted August 21, 2006]

One of the greatest problems in rescue operations dur-

ing fire disasters is the blocking of firefighters’ view
by dense smoke. Assuming that a firefighter’s most
important task is to understand the situation within a
smoke-filled space. We developed a way to do so, start-
ing by scanning space using millimeter-wave radar
combined with a gyrosensor. To detect persons and ob-
jects, we constructed a 3D map from signal reflection
datasets using 3D image processing. We detail our pro-
posal and report results of measurement experiment in
actual smoke-filled areas.

Keywords: millimeter-wave radar, gyroscope sensor,

three-dimensional image processing, object detection,
three-dimensional space reconstruction
Fig. 1. System overview.

1. Introduction

1.1. Background searchlight use. A 3D map visualizing the space is con-

One of the biggest problems in rescue operations is
poor visibility due to dense smoke. One of the strate-
gies in this situation uses a search stick similar to those
used by the visually handicapped, but firefighters have
difficulty finding victims and are exposed to dangers. As-
suming that the most important task for firefighters is to
understand the fire situation as soon as possible. Infrared
radiation cameras have been suggested. Because smoke-
filled areas can be explored with thermal imaging, but the
camera also captures the smoke [2]. Range Finders (RFs)
have been suggested to measure 3-dimensioanl (3D) data.
Because they accurately detect objects but measures only
smoke and are difficult to carry [3]. Rescue robots de-
veloped thus for cannot yet smoothly through fire sites.
We concluded that firefighters themselves must carry and
system to be proposed.
1.2. Objectives and Overview
We targeted a system that sees through smoke and
is easy to carry, using radar technology, 3D imaging,
etc. [1] (Fig.1). Firefighters scan a space using com-
pact millimeter-wave radar and a gyroscope sensor, man-
ually changing scan (panning-tilting) direction similar to
structed from data obtained in real time.
Firefighters visualize the map using a head-mounted
display to improve spatial perception. We use millimeter-
wave radar because millimeter waves go through smoke
particles (Section 2.2), providing reliable results in
smoke-filled areas.
2. System Configuration
2.1. Overview
We use millimeter-wave radar with 10cm for each seg-
ment and weighting 1kg, together with a gyroscope sen-
sor with 30mm for each segment and weighing 28g (In-
ter sense, Ltd. / InterCube2). These are on a tripod
and connected to a laptop computer (Intel R Pentium M
1600MHz 1GB RAM) and head-mounted display.
We use millimeter-wave radar to scan space. A gyro-
scope sensor on radar measures scanning directions. Be-
cause radar uses one-dimensional scanning (Section 2.2),
firefighters scan space manually changing (panning and
tilting directions) to create a 3D map. During scanning,
firefighters check the display and change the scanning di-
rections similar to the use of a searchlight.

760 Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics Vol.18 No.6, 2006

 Human and Object Detection in Smoke-Filled Space

Because the radar and sensor are on tripod, scanning

is done in one position. We plan to use an acceleration
sensor in future to eliminate the tripod and use nonfixed
measurement with the sensor calculating radar orientation
[4].

2.2. FM-CW Millimeter-Wave Radar

To detect objects in dense smoke-filled space, we focus
on millimeter-wave radar already in practical use as sen-
sors in ITS to detect vehicles ahead and help prevent rear-
Fig. 2. 3D map construction.
end collisions [5, 6]. Radar measures the distance to ob-
jects ahead using the beat frequency, calculated using the
difference between transmitted and received signals. We
chose the radar because it operates in both smoke-filled
and nonsmoke-free areas and is robust against fog, rain,
and smoke particle thanks to Rayleigh scattering (Sec-
tion 2.3).
We use FM-CW formula 76GHz band millimeter-wave
radar, improved for our study, e.g., distance is compressed
from 191m to 30m. Having close-range scanning, the
radar is highly accurate and collects data quickly.

Radar executes a 38-beam one-dimensional mechanical
scan at 10Hz/frame over a scanning area of 10 Æ horizon-
Fig. 3. Formation of radar data (one frame).
tally and 30m ahead. Millimeter-wave radar has a resolu-
tion 0.5m in depth (Section 3.3).

based on the area of interest, similar to searchlight use.

2.3. Rayleigh Scattering Approximation
Rayleigh Scattering is detailed below.

4  
2π a
σ π a2 . . . . . . . . . . (1)
λ
Rayleigh Scattering Approximation
λ : wavelength, σ : Rear scattering cross section,
a : Particle radius
Smoke particles are much smaller than the millime-
ter wavelength, scattering is less than for light, and the
medium has more transparent characteristics. Millimeter-
wave radar now used in vehicles is robust against fog,
rain, and snow.
2.4. Gyroscope Sensor
The gyroscope sensor measures sensor rotation for
 
triaxial information (yaw, pitch, and roll), and is
3.2 2.9 2.4cm) and weights 28g. The frame rate is
120Hz and the angle resolution 0 02 Æ (relative).
Third, after scanning comes grouping, labeling, and cal-
culation of objects – all in less than 1 second.
3.2. Combining Millimeter Radar Data and the Gy-
roscope Sensor Data
Because radar uses one-dimensional scanning hori-
zontally (Section 2.2), firefighters scan space by man-
ually changing scanning directions to create a three-
dimensional map. The gyroscope sensor measures scan-
ning directions as triaxial information (yaw, pitch, and
roll), producing multiple directional radar datasets, com-
bining one-frame radar datasets with gyroscope sensor
datasets corresponding to scanning direction. Then, plot-
ting datasets into a 3D map.
During scanning, firefighters check that scanning
changes based on the space of interest, similar to search-
light use.
It takes 20 seconds to scan a normal room, i.e., 10m per
segment.

3.3. Color-Coded Based on Signal Intensity

3. 3D Map Construction
3.1. Overview
3D maps (Fig.2) are constructed in 6 steps. First,
the system obtains multiple directional datasets from
One frame of radar data is shown in Fig.3(left). Each
beam has 64 measurement points at 0.5m intervals in
depth. Beams are 0.55 Æ apart horizontally, i.e., 2432
points are in the frame scanning area. We get a signal
intensity dataset from each point, then each point is color-

millimeter-wave radar and the gyroscope sensor through
scanning, then combines both datasets. Second, datasets
are color-coded and plotted on a 3D map. While firefight-
ers check the display and change the scanning direction

coded based on signal intensity datasets. We currently de-
fine the signal intensity as exceeding 40dB to objects.
We defined the threshold based on [7] and our experi-
ments.

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