KEEPING TRACK OF OUR NATION’S FIRST 

RESPONDERS IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS 

When responders arrive at the scene of an emergency and 

rush into a building, it is critical their team knows their exact 

location at all times. In scenarios with heavy smoke, debris, or 

line-of-sight obstructions, maintaining awareness of 

responder locations not only enhances real-time response 

efforts but also saves valuable time when a responder is 

injured or lost. The critical need to track and locate firefighters 

while in the line of duty, has been a top priority in the field for 

over a decade. “A locator device that can pinpoint someone 

within one meter or less of their actual location is critical to 

keeping our first responders safe,” said Greg Price, First 

Responder Portfolio Director for Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). 

In 2014, DHS S&T partnered with the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

(JPL) to mitigate this gap by developing the Precision Outdoor 

& Indoor Navigation & Tracking for Emergency Responders 

(POINTER) technology. POINTER is a precision positioning 

sensor that locates first responders via low frequency 

magnetic fields that can transmit signals through materials 

including wood, concrete, brick and rebar. Over the last two 

years, NASA JPL has made significant technological strides 

and improvements by: 

1. Increasing the accuracy of locating a responder to

within one meter or less while in rural two to three

story residential homes

2. Reducing the size of the mobile receiver worn by first

responders comparable to the size of an iPhone 11 or

smaller

3. Refining the software for visualization to display the

location of each first responder who enters the

structure in a 2D rendering that is visible by command

post personnel

4. Optimizing the software that processes the X, Y and Z

position data generated by the magneto-quasistatic

frequency in real-time and sent to a laptop at the

command post running the visualization software.

MAGNETO-QUASISTATIC NAVIGATION AND 

VISUALIZATION 

POINTER sets itself apart by using low-frequency magnetoquasistatic fields that can transmit signals through any building 

materials. That differentiates it from Ultra-Wide Band, GPS, 

radio frequency identification systems and sensor fusion 

methods, all of which rely on radio position location and suffer 

reduced performance in non-line-of-sight and indoor 

environments. So unlike devices that use electromagnetic 

waves, POINTER does not lose its accuracy around people, 

objects or walls, and therefore, can be used for navigation and 

tracking in environments where traditional devices do not work. 

The POINTER system will be unobtrusive to the first responder 

and will be built to self-deploy once activated at the scene of an 

incident or emergency. Transmitters can elevate from the fire 

engine, while responders begin their life saving duties wearing 

small mobile receivers, which pick up signals and send their 

location to a command post’s 2D visualization system. The 

technology determines where the first responder is, including 

their elevation, and whether they are standing still or moving, 

based on the position and orientation of the mobile device; 

solving for positions in complex environments. The data 

information is then directly relayed to the command post.

Photo courtesy of NASA JPL. The POINTER receiver

PREPARING POINTER ACTIVITIES AND 

MILESTONES

The POINTER technology is set for commercialization in 

2021 and will be available to first responders. Version one 

will be designed for use in single family homes, 

warehouses and buildings that are three stories or less. 

Future versions of POINTER will accurately track first 

responders in high-rise buildings, outdoors and subterranean 

environments at a greater distance. 

Contact Us: SandT.Innovation@hq.dhs.gov dhsscitech 

02-2020 

Precision Outdoor & Indoor Navigation & 

Tracking for Emergency Responders