NASA Used To Have An Earthquake Rescue Spinoff Called FINDER. Where Is It Now? [UPDATE]

Keith’s 13 Feb update I have spoken with some folks in the space biomedical community and seen some email chains about the use of FINDER tech in earthquake affected areas in Turkiye (Turkey). I am leaving names/organizations out of this so they can work un-hindered by my posting of their names. Shortly after/concurrent with my complaint last week on NASAWatch about NASA PAO ignoring this good news a bunch of people within NASA HQ, JPL and in the private sector were in motion to coordinate with one another. The utility of this NASA-developed spinoff technology was blatantly obvious to them – even if NASA PAO did not understand – or care that it was. Some FINDER units were already pre-positioned in Turkiye but more were needed. So this ad hoc network sprang into place and worked 24/7 such that and further pieces of hardware are now in place or enroute to Turkiye. I will update on this topic as I get additional information. It is heartwarming to see that a NASA inspired spinoff does exceed expectations and can actually help save lives. What is baffling – annoyingly so – is the continued indifference on the part of NASA Public Affairs. This is one instance where all of the NASA spinoff hype was utterly justified. It is also a stellar example of the potent soft power projection that NASA is capable of inspiring. Yet Marc Etkind et al just sit on their hands. Just sayin’. Keith’s 14 Feb update: Marc Etkind’s NASA PAO elite social media squad finally figured out how to tweet about this. Only took 5 days for a one paragraph update. It is not as if this tech is a secret – except to NASA PAO it would seem. Better late than never.

Keith’s 9 Feburary note: A few years ago NASA touted a tech transfer “spinoff” at JPL called “FINDER” – a device that uses microwave technology to detect heartbeats and other noises that could lead rescuers to victims buried by earthquakes. Cool stuff. In 2016 NASA held a demo down at Quantico, Virginia which I atteneded. I later wrote this piece describing how it all works. After a few mentions by NASA it essentially disappeared from the examples of spinoffs that NASA cites. With the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria one would think (hope) that new stories about this technology’s deployment would be posted – the hope being that NASA helped spread this technology for wider utilization. I seem to have found no examples of any recent mention. One would think that NASA would want to see this technology deployed as widely as possible for humanitarian reasons – as well as a potent method of soft power projection. NASA PAO no longer responds to inquiries about things like this – if they did I’d ask. Can anyone tell me if FINDER technology is still in use – and whether it is being deployed in the Middle East after this quake. Thanks. See “NASA FINDER Technology Aids Search Following Mexico Earthquake“ from 2017 and “Using Space Radar To Hear Human Heartbeats in Nepal“(2016).