Search Camera vs Life Detector: Two Different Tools
A search camera shows the space and can carry voice. A life detector senses sound or vibration. How the two differ, and where Zistos APEX fits.
Short answer
A search camera shows the inside of a void and, on Zistos APEX, carries a two way voice link. A life detector is a separate class of tool that senses sound or vibration. They answer different questions. Zistos systems are search cameras and do not perform acoustic or seismic detection.
What a search camera answers
What is in the space? What does it look like, in color or as a heat signature? On Zistos APEX: can the operator talk with the person inside while holding visual contact?
What a life detector answers
Life detectors use acoustic or seismic sensors to pick up sound or vibration that can point to a person. That is a different question from what the space looks like.
Voice is not detection
TalkBack on Zistos APEX is a voice link. It speaks and hears at the camera head, in the space where the camera is. It does not pick up tapping or vibration through rubble.
Is a search camera a "victim locator camera"?
The term is often used for search cameras. The camera does not locate anyone on its own. It gives the operator a live view and, on Zistos APEX, a voice link. The operator does the locating.
Frequently asked questions
Does Zistos make a life detector?
No. Zistos makes search camera systems: Zistos APEX and Zistos SPRINT.
Are the two tools substitutes for each other?
No. They answer different questions.
Can Zistos APEX hear through rubble?
No. TalkBack speaks and hears at the camera head. It is not a listening device for sound that travels through rubble.
Definition
A search camera shows the inside of a void; a life detector senses sound or vibration. Zistos APEX is a search camera with a two way voice link at the camera head.