remotely detecting poachers

[Chris Nicholas]

greetings -

I am working with the folks of: http://smartconservationtools.org/ on anti-poaching, and the ability to remotely detect people moving through the forest with small arms and other metal is potentially a "game changer" .

There was a previous system based on induction, as per: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/407900/hunting-poachers-remotely/ . Could this be more effectively replaced with an active radar system?  Certainly, if it could cover a wider area, and be set back off trails, it would be a lot more difficult to detect visually. The other question is: what is the power drain on such a system? Could a small motorcycle battery power it for a while?

thoughts/suggestions/RTFMs welcome...

thanks!
Chris

[RDK Support]

This is a great idea!  However there would be a few problems with using our radar to detect people (poachers) in a forest.  

1) Trees and other growth would create interference that would result in drastically lower range of the radar (around 10 meters)

2) Guns could not be distinguished from other objects.  While it is true that metal is typically better at reflecting electromagnetic waves, the surrounding objects (people, animals, trees) are much bigger and will reflect just as much power as a gun. 

3) A small motorcycle battery would power the radar for only ~12 hours. 

The radar would best serve as a motion detector in a cluttered environment such as a forest, but many things move in the forest!