Can the military detect a heartbeat from miles away? Israel is trying to find out

Israel's Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) is seeking advanced technologies for contactless detection and monitoring of human physiological signals over distances ranging from meters to kilometers. This initiative aims to enhance search-and-rescue capabilities for locating individuals in life-threatening situations, such as wounded soldiers, disaster survivors, or downed pilots, even when they cannot communicate or activate rescue devices. The goal is to detect signs of life, including brain activity, cardiovascular signals, respiration, and muscle activity, without requiring interaction from the individual. This effort moves beyond traditional survival equipment like the Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL), which requires user activation. The program explores combining quantum systems, electromagnetic sensing, optics, acoustics, and artificial intelligence to process weak signals and overcome environmental interference, addressing a critical challenge in modern warfare where finding individuals who cannot send a signal remains a persistent problem.