be the first.”
“What is RTI?”
Kyli grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him toward the worktable. “Radio tomographic imaging. It will allow you to see through walls, literally. You will be able to locate and track moving people or objects in a given area.”
“I like this toy already. It’s like Superman’s x-ray vision.”
“It’s not that simple.” Kyli held up four ball-shaped objects. “First, you have to put these in place. One at each corner of the structure you want to look into. Radio transceivers—they transmit and receive radio signals.”
Jake picked up one of the balls. He noticed the thick rubber studs protruding from its surface. “Might be easier said than done.”
“Not really, but I’ll get to that in a minute.” She took the ball from Jake’s hand and placed it on the table with the others. “You know, the Patent Office is full of some really good ideas that just haven’t been perfected to their full potential.”
“Wait a minute.” Jake said. “You’re telling me that Wiley raided the Patent Office and stole someone’s idea. That’s illegal.”
“Steal is such an insensitive word, Jake. Borrow is more appropriate. Borrowed concepts are never used commercially. If Mr. Wiley comes across an idea he and a few others feel are commercially viable products then we kind of leak a better way of doing it back to the originator and let them perfect their invention. Wiley likes to make ideas work and understands there is no need to reinvent the wheel.”
“So, where did he borrow this idea?” Jake asked. “Or should I not ask?”
“No that’s fine. You should know.” Kyli smiled. “This idea came from the University of Utah. But their computer display and software were lacking. They used transceivers spaced roughly six feet apart lining the entire perimeter. So many, in fact, that it was impractical for real world application. For an average sized building, they might need dozens, perhaps hundreds of transceivers. Grossly underpowered and inadequate to do the job. And their monitor display was almost illegible. Each person showed up as a blob on the screen. It literally served no useful purpose in the covert world, so Wiley improved it.
“The concept is the same but our design far surpasses anything they had considered possible. We use four transceivers, one on each corner. Radio signals are bounced off targets and the returning echoes provide the target’s location and speed relative to the transceiver. The data from each transceiver is received by the computer and displayed on the screen. Individual targets are distinguishable by their mass and frequency. Our program has a database that allows you to mark and label each target and the computer will monitor their movements allowing us to track each target individually.”
“Do the targets ever get confused?”
“Not a chance. Not with Wiley’s design. Everything and everyone has its own distinct frequency signature, so once you tag a target, the computer will always distinguish it from all other targets.”
Kyli flipped on the computer. “Because RTI measures shadows in radio waves created when they pass through a person or object, our display will also accurately depict stationary objects.”
“What if the building has multiple levels or a basement?” Jake tapped on the monitor. “Can it account for that?”
“That’s the beauty of these.” She picked up a transceiver ball. “First these are shock-proof, so you can throw them where you need them. That allows you to place them discreetly reducing your odds of being detected. You just need to make sure they are at least ten feet away from the structure. Second, they are self-orienting. They operate with a tiny gyro inside, they automatically level themselves then locate their siblings—the other transceiver balls. But the best feature of all is what happens next. When initiated by the computer, the transceivers will literally draw a 3D model of the building
“What is RTI?”
Kyli grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled him toward the worktable. “Radio tomographic imaging. It will allow you to see through walls, literally. You will be able to locate and track moving people or objects in a given area.”
“I like this toy already. It’s like Superman’s x-ray vision.”
“It’s not that simple.” Kyli held up four ball-shaped objects. “First, you have to put these in place. One at each corner of the structure you want to look into. Radio transceivers—they transmit and receive radio signals.”
Jake picked up one of the balls. He noticed the thick rubber studs protruding from its surface. “Might be easier said than done.”
“Not really, but I’ll get to that in a minute.” She took the ball from Jake’s hand and placed it on the table with the others. “You know, the Patent Office is full of some really good ideas that just haven’t been perfected to their full potential.”
“Wait a minute.” Jake said. “You’re telling me that Wiley raided the Patent Office and stole someone’s idea. That’s illegal.”
“Steal is such an insensitive word, Jake. Borrow is more appropriate. Borrowed concepts are never used commercially. If Mr. Wiley comes across an idea he and a few others feel are commercially viable products then we kind of leak a better way of doing it back to the originator and let them perfect their invention. Wiley likes to make ideas work and understands there is no need to reinvent the wheel.”
“So, where did he borrow this idea?” Jake asked. “Or should I not ask?”
“No that’s fine. You should know.” Kyli smiled. “This idea came from the University of Utah. But their computer display and software were lacking. They used transceivers spaced roughly six feet apart lining the entire perimeter. So many, in fact, that it was impractical for real world application. For an average sized building, they might need dozens, perhaps hundreds of transceivers. Grossly underpowered and inadequate to do the job. And their monitor display was almost illegible. Each person showed up as a blob on the screen. It literally served no useful purpose in the covert world, so Wiley improved it.
“The concept is the same but our design far surpasses anything they had considered possible. We use four transceivers, one on each corner. Radio signals are bounced off targets and the returning echoes provide the target’s location and speed relative to the transceiver. The data from each transceiver is received by the computer and displayed on the screen. Individual targets are distinguishable by their mass and frequency. Our program has a database that allows you to mark and label each target and the computer will monitor their movements allowing us to track each target individually.”
“Do the targets ever get confused?”
“Not a chance. Not with Wiley’s design. Everything and everyone has its own distinct frequency signature, so once you tag a target, the computer will always distinguish it from all other targets.”
Kyli flipped on the computer. “Because RTI measures shadows in radio waves created when they pass through a person or object, our display will also accurately depict stationary objects.”
“What if the building has multiple levels or a basement?” Jake tapped on the monitor. “Can it account for that?”
“That’s the beauty of these.” She picked up a transceiver ball. “First these are shock-proof, so you can throw them where you need them. That allows you to place them discreetly reducing your odds of being detected. You just need to make sure they are at least ten feet away from the structure. Second, they are self-orienting. They operate with a tiny gyro inside, they automatically level themselves then locate their siblings—the other transceiver balls. But the best feature of all is what happens next. When initiated by the computer, the transceivers will literally draw a 3D model of the building
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