Smart Headlights Make Driving in Precipitation Safer

A team of engineers at Carnegie Mellon University is developing a technology to make driving in rain or snow safer. Can you imagine headlights that can see between the raindrops? That’s just what researchers at the Illumination and Imaging (ILIM) laboratory at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon have created.

Standard headlights illuminate not only the road ahead, but also rain and snow, which creates glare and limits visibility. The ILIM team has devised a prototype “smart headlight” system that can avoid precipitation and maintain adequate illumination of the road and surrounding environment.

The system works by using a high-speed camera to record the location of raindrops and snowflakes. “All we have to do is use very simple models of motion to predict where they’re going to be in the next few milliseconds,” says lead researcher Srinivasa Narasimhan in a radio interview. Individual beams in the smart headlight can be turned on and off to avoid these particles. “So you’re streaming those beams of light in between the raindrops and snowflakes so that the light won’t hit any of these particles and therefore you may not see them,” Narasimhan says.

EHS in India

ASSE’s new India Chapter, in collaboration with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited, organized the “Workshop on Construction Safety” this past June. This free program, supported by L&T Hydrocarbon Construction & Pipelines and Praxair India Private Ltd., was another milestone event for the India Chapter. The interactive workshop consisted of 62 participants and included information on best practices in construction, managing safety on a large scale, and observing and modifying unsafe behaviors. According to R Bharadwaj and Gurudas Bandyopadhyay, members of the India Chapter, the workshop proved successful and is yet another step India has taken to include EHS in the workplace. Fore more information, visit ASSE India.

New NIH Office to Support Emergency Care Research

National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed its Office of Emergency Care Research (OECR) to focus on the health of patients who need emergency care. According to NIH, OECR will be "the focal point for basic, clinical and transitional emergency care research and training across NIH." Among many goals, OECR will focus on encouraging career development for those training in emergency care research; coordinate funding opportunities; and represent NIH in government efforts to improve U.S. emergency care systems.

NIH Director Francis Collins says although the agency has always supported emergency care research, now it has one main office where greater efforts can be made. "The NIH OECR will focus on speeding diagnosis and improving care for the full spectrum of conditions that require emergency treatment," Collins says.

International Workshop to Focus on Technology Solutions for First Responder Safety

Worcester Polytechnic Institute will host the 7th Annual International Workshop on Precision Indoor Personnel Location and Tracking Technology, Aug. 6-7 in Worcester, MA. Sponsored by the Science and Technology Directorate fo the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the workshop provides a forum for researchers and developers working in indoor location and tracking to share technical knowledge and to define the current state of tracking technologies. This technology is designed to help firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel quickly locate and rescue colleagues who become lost, disabled or trapped inside buildings.

The focus of this workshop is tracking of emergency responders and systems that provide tracking and position information on such personnel. Topics will also include the applicability of commercial location-aware systems to the needs of the first responder community, and standards development for location and tracking systems.

Also of note, DHS's Science and Technology Directorate will provide a public demonstration of its first responder location system, known as GLANSER--the Geospatial Location Accountability and Navigation System for Emergency Responders. In the demonstration, the system will undergo a rigorous test designed and executed by a team of first responders from the Worcester Fire Department. Testing will involve two scenarios: a search and rescue mission to locate a lost firefighter, and an attempt to help two firefighters who become separated to find each other. The event will also feature technology demonstrations by more than a dozen companies, universities and safety groups.

To join the conversation, follow the workshop on Twitter @WPINews and use hashtag #WPIPPL2012.

EPA's Battle of the Buildings Competition Underway

EPA reports that a record number of 3,200 buildings are competing in its Energy Star program's 2012 National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. The buildings are competing to improve energy efficiency, protect health and the environment and decrease utility costs. The agency says that teams use  EPA's Portfolio Manger to keep track and measure monthly energy consumption. The public can follow progress online, and winners of the year-long competition will be announced in April 2013.