Sci-Tech Daresbury innovators work together to develop search and rescue technology

Two businesses located on the Sci-Tech Daresbury campus, Revector and 4D Products, have collaborated on a bespoke project for a search and rescue operator based in Vietnam.

Revector has a 20-year track record of supplying products and services across a range of telecommunications, security and intelligence industries. In this case, its expertise with analysis of International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers, which is more typically used to detect and eliminate fraud, was applied to a search and rescue application.
Revector engineered a phone tracking device that can attract and monitor the signal of a missing person’s mobile device and narrow down the location to a 20-metre radius. In vast areas of South East Asia that are packed with dense vegetation and where there are no buildings or reference points in the terrain, the device promises to greatly refine the search area and increase the chance of a prompt discovery.

4D Products’ involvement was sparked through a business networking event at Sci-Tech Daresbury. Although Revector had already constructed the tracking device, they required a product design and development firm to develop a cradle to carry the 10kg signal tracking unit and its attached long antenna. Their team designed a custom cradle that fits inside a standard backpack, ensuring the device is securely protected and still functional. Search and rescue teams can wear the backpack while tracking missing persons, or they can attach the antenna to a specially engineered handle that allows them to aim it toward transmitted phone signals.

As both businesses are located on campus at Sci-Tech Daresbury, just three doors apart, the turnaround from initial concept to prototype completion was highly efficient – a one-month development time that this was from initial idea through to working samples in hand.

Shane Wilson, CEO at Revector, said: “This technology is groundbreaking for search and rescue teams in Vietnam, and we’re truly proud of the difference it will make for locating lost individuals in vegetation-dense areas.

“Working on campus with 4D Products has streamlined the design and development process. When we had a question, we would knock on 4D Products’ door and discuss next steps. That’s the benefit of Sci-Tech Daresbury, it brings innovative companies together under one roof.”

Adam Farrall, Product Designer at 4D Products, said: “The collaborative nature of the project really sped up production. We were able to talk through intricate designs, draw up some ideas, then walk down the hall for Revector’s opinion. There was no waiting around for emails or meetings. In fact, when Revector came back to us with a handle idea, we designed and brought it to life that same day and had a prototype in Shane’s hand before 5pm. That flexibility is just one of the many reasons we chose Sci-Tech Daresbury.”

John Leake, Business Growth Director at Sci-Tech Daresbury, said: “Innovation always makes big calls on having the necessary skills and expertise on hand to turn ideas into reality. At the same time, competitive advantage is not just about great minds working together, but also speed of response. The close proximity of businesses and the openness to collaborate within our campus ecosystem facilitates ideation and commercialisation, and we take great pleasure in seeing Revector and 4D Products prospering together.”