In April 2017, Bertin Instruments went to Boston to present its device, Second Sight MS standoff gas cloud detector, and help for the surveillance of the Boston marathon. For this event, two Second Sight MS were deployed to monitor the arrival of the marathon, on Boylston Street.
The Second Sight MS were placed face to face with a direct view on the finishing line: one on a rooftop and the other on a bucket on the street, with a distance of 1 km in between. Thanks to a wireless solution, the supervision and monitoring was done from the control room in the hazmat firetruck. In that configuration, the Second Sight MS were able to detect any gas attack that could happen.
With the Gas X algorithm – ability to detect automatically unknown gas, impure formulation and mixture of gas – and a database of 50 gases – with most of the Chemical Warfare Agents -, the Second Sight MS is able to detect any gas having an absorption in IR band III and to identify each gas from the database. It provides the major information: gas cloud with information if available (identification and concentration), contaminated area and estimated source point. Then, first responders have all needed information to go on site with appropriate equipment to confirm the alarm and help injured people.
