Xaver™ 800 – FAQ
- Can the Xaver™ 800 really see through walls?
- Why was the Xaver™ 800 developed?
- How does the Xaver™ 800 work?
- What types and thickness of walls can the Xaver™ 800 see through?
- Can the radar "see" the shape of a room? E.g. where the doors and dividing walls are placed?
Can the Xaver™ 800 produce images of activities on upper floors?
- How does Xaver™ 800 assist the personnel using it? What are the applications?
- What’s new and unique about the system in terms of the capabilities?
- This is Radar. Is it safe for its operators and people behind the wall?
- How big is the system? How many people are needed to carry and operate it?
- How much time does it take for set up?
Does the operator need to stay near the system to operate it?
- Is it necessary to place the system close to the wall?
- What sets the Xaver™ 800 apart from competitors?
- When did Xaver™ 800 go into production? Who is currently using the Xaver™ 800?
1. Can the Xaver™ 800 really see through walls?
The Xaver™ 800 is microwave radar that is capable of penetrating walls and creating an image of objects behind those walls by picking up the reflected energy from those objects (including people and canine). The system provides information regarding the number of people, their location and orientation, as well as the shape of the room. Since the resulted images are not created by visible light or infrared optical methods, they are less detailed.
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2. Why was the Xaver™ 800 developed?
The ability to see through solid, non-transparent walls is a capability that everyone can immediately find applications for. For people who operate in hostile environments this ability can be the difference between success and failure of an operation. Failure may spell out casualties. The need for this technology has existed for a long time and now the Xaver™ 800 is mature to deliver this capability in a compact, portable device.
The Xaver™ 800 system creates an operational unfair advantage to the one who operates it. It pretty much changes the rules of the game, allowing a real shift in operational paradigms. Forces can plan ahead and beyond the wall they stand in front of, significantly increasing their mission success probability while protecting their lives.
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3. How does the Xaver™ 800 work?
The system is basically a radar, but with several unique characteristics. First and foremost, the operational environment is very different than ordinary radars, e.g. for air traffic control. Ordinary radar operates in free space over large distances and transmits very high power levels. Our system needs to penetrate walls and provide high resolution in relatively short distances. In addition, due to the fact that there are people in the immediate vicinity of the system we must keep microwave radiation at safe levels. Our design utilizes special antenna design and an ultra wideband (UWB) signal to cope with the challenge. The use of UWB signal provides design simplicity on one hand, but required innovative implementation on the other. We overcame all hurdles implementing creative concepts, many of these are patented or patent pending.
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4. What types and thickness of walls can the Xaver™ 800 see through?
The Xaver™ 800 can see through most commonly used wall materials, e.g. clay brick, cinder blocks, rebar reinforced concrete, plaster dry wall, wood, adobe, stone and glass. The system can not penetrate a continuous sheet of metal. The penetrateable wall thickness varies and depends on the wall material. The system has several modes of operation and view options to cope with “tough” walls.
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5. Can the radar "see" the shape of a room? E.g. where the doors and dividing walls are placed? Can the Xaver™ 800 produce images of activities on upper floors?
The system can map the shape of a room as well as other solid structures such as a desk or file cabinet. Xaver™ 800 can produce images through floors and ceilings as well.
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6. How does the Xaver™ 800 assist the personnel using it? What are the applications?
The system provides situational awareness of a room or building by providing information of how many people are behind the wall or walls; it also provides information on the structure of the building or rooms. Getting information from behind solid walls allows better preparation of an operation: reducing surprises, efficient use of resources and eventually saving lives.
Applications include:
- Military urban operations
- Hostage rescue
- Victim search and rescue
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7. What’s new and unique about the system in terms of the capabilities?
The new and unique capabilities in the Xaver™ 800 system include high resolution, real-time 3-D imaging, the ability to discriminate how many people are in a room or building, where they are, what they are doing, and the ability to combine this information with structural information of the room or building. The system is also capable of differentiating between static and moving objects. This is a powerful capability, providing information about where the objects are relative to the structure, e.g. on which side of an inner wall a person is located.
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8. This is Radar. Is it safe for its operators and people behind the wall?
Absolutely yes. The Xaver™ 800 transmits microwave energy at power level that is a tiny fraction of the power levels of a cellular phone.
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9. How big is the system? How many people are needed to carry and operate it?
The Xaver™ 800 is a portable system. It weighs 15Kg/33lb and it folds to a compact 47cmX47cmX15cm ( 19” x 19” x 6”) that can be easily carried and operated by a single person. The system consists of two parts – Front end (FE), which is the sensor part and Back end (BE), which is the operating and display unit. The two parts may be either attached to each other or connected by cable.
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10. How much time does it take for set up? Does the operator need to stay near the system to operate it?
Unfolding the sensor and mounting the system on a tripod takes less than one minute. The Xaver™ 800 delivers images within 15 seconds from pressing the ON/OFF button.
The operator may stay near the system or connect the FE and BE through a cable that is up to 30m/100ft long, thus staying away from the sensor and the wall.
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11. Is it necessary to place the system close to the wall?
No. The system’s range is 8m/26ft and the wall can be anywhere within this range. Yet, placing the system close to the wall has many advantages, minimizing any effects that can be created by reflections from the wall’s external surface.
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12. What sets the Xaver™ 800 apart from competitors?
Several concepts used in the system’s design translate into superior performance and unprecedented image details. The image is detailed enough to tell what the person is doing, e.g. standing, waking, sitting, kneeling etc. The use of ultra wideband signal translates into high radial resolution. Special sensor design increases angular resolution. These, together with advanced image reconstruction algorithms, provide better handling of clutter and the ability to show high resolution 3D image of a person.
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13. When did the Xaver™ 800 go into production? Who is currently using the Xaver™ 800?
Low rate production began earlier this year (2007). The Xaver™ 800 is in use and under evaluation by the military of several countries and law enforcement agencies.
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