Comic book superpowers are not just fantasy anymore with a new technological innovation being developed by one group of local technologists. Kai Sensors, in association with the University of Hawaii’s Electrical Engineering Department, is bringing extraordinary powers to otherwise ordinary situations by creating the LifeReader, a revolutionary device capable of accurately detecting heart rate and breathing patterns safely and wirelessly through walls. Who needs Superman anymore?

Four years in the making, Kai Sensors has recently initiated and secured the first phase of funding from the U.S. Army. The goal is to develop sensor and communication technology on a single chip, thus compacting size and increasing mobility of the device. The project is estimated a net worth of $850,000.

The LifeReader has already received generous attention, recently snagging the Emerging Technology Award at the TechConnect Summit 2007 held in Santa Clara, California.

Infusing the elements of a microwave, MIMO (multiple input multiple output) Doppler radar and digital signal technology, the LifeReader effectively detects and monitors heart rate as well as breathing patters of multiple subjects without any physical contact. The technology is comparable to that used in police radar guns that estimate vehicle speed. Similar to the radar gun, a signal is sent towards an object, which then bounces back, showing changes in frequency. This shift reveals the speed of the vehicle.

Seems simple enough, but then throw in mechanics of the human respiratory, pulmonary, and heart system to the equation and you’ve got a very complex system at hand. The LifeReader technology is designed to effectively distinguish differences in heartbeat and breathing patterns, which signifies physical and emotional distress. Simply remarkable.

According to Associate Director of Technology for the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Center, Dr. Barry Perlman, "The Kai Sensors team is highly innovative and has extensive experience in Doppler radar, chip technology, and communications. They are very well positioned to bring this technology to market for both military and commercial applications."

Perlman also adds that the, "Development of a highly integrated multifunction system on a chip to support radar and communications applications where small size, weight and power or SWAP are critical requirements."

Expected to also be able to bolster homeland security, LifeReader is capable of identifying individuals with a rapid or ‘guilty’ heart rate at airports, who can then be further screened. The LifeReader would also prove invaluable on the battlefield. Different from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Radar Scope developed for troops in Iraq, which solely identifies respiration patterns, LifeReader can detect heart rhythm and distinguish the number of individuals on the opposite side of a wall, not just their actual presence.

Drastic transformations would also take place in both medical and health field applications. Vital signs of multiple patients can be continuously tracked, allowing doctors to better diagnose and monitor patients less intrusively, over a longer period of time.