CENTUM has announced that Lifeseeker, its life-saving technology, has been certified for linefit on Airbus H145 helicopters. Lifeseeker uses signals from a missing person’s mobile phone to guide search and rescue (SAR) teams to the right place quickly. It helps make SAR missions more effective and efficient, saving lives and optimizing operational costs.

Lifeseeker turns the phone into a beacon. It creates its own network to triangulate the exact location of the missing person’s phone, making it independent from mobile phone networks. Importantly, it does not rely on line of sight, meaning it is effective in all weathers and all terrains, night and day, even if the missing person is hidden by trees, or even buried in snow or rubble.

Lifeseeker can also be used to communicate with the missing person to assess any immediate medical needs, the best place to pick them up and so on. However, Lifeseeker does not rely on the missing person taking any action.

Héctor Estévez, CEO of CENTUM, said, “Everyone has a mobile phone which now means we all have a rescue beacon. As soon as we find the phone, we find the person. We know the technology works because it is already helping save lives in Europe.

“The Covid pandemic has made us all appreciate nature and the outdoors more than ever. And being in the mountains is one of the few activities we can do in the current circumstances. What we’ve heard from search and rescue teams is that more people than ever are heading to the mountains and that will only increase as skiing opens up. Now really is the time to review the available technology to ensure every SAR team has what it needs to be as successful as possible.”

Airbus managed the certification process to the highest industry standards. Lifeseeker is now available for SAR teams around the world on the H145 platform, and the Type Certificate is available from Airbus for further installations.

The H145 is used by SAR teams globally. It combines a large cabin space, ease of access through wide sliding doors, low noise levels, smooth flights and a small D-value, which means it can land in tight spaces.

The Lifeseeker airborne hardware is enclosed in a small 15kg unit, measuring 360mm x 240mm x 171mm. Combined with CENTUM’s proprietary algorithm, the system provides highly accurate geolocation. The user interface is very straightforward to operate and Lifeseeker can be operated using either a PC or a tablet.

A miniaturized version of the hardware can also be used in drones, for shorter range missions.