Physical Examination of the DKL LifeGuard, Model 3

• NCJ Number: 206120
• Author(s): Dale W. Murray
• Date Published: October 1998
• Length: 54 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical)

Annotation

At the request of the National Institute of Justice, the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) conducted a physical examination of Dielectrokenetic Laboratories’ (DKL) LifeGuard Model 3 to determine if the devices, designed to locate and track living human individuals, are designed on solid scientific principles but do not perform well or whether performance could be enhanced.

Abstract

The Dielectrokenetic Laboratories, LLC (DKL) LifeGuard series of devices is designed to locate and track living human individuals, even when hidden from the operator, based on the device’s response to the beating human heart. The devices operate at distances of 500 meters for the Model 1, 20 meters for the Model 2, and 600 meters for the Model 3. In 1998, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in New Mexico, at the request of the Department of Energy tested the basic performance of DKL’s LifeGuard devices. The Model 2.0 was tested which failed to perform as advertised. Following these tests, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) requested SNL to perform additional testing and evaluation to determine if the devices were designed on solid scientific principles, but simply did not perform well. The device tested was the Model 3 which is composed of two parts; one active (powered) and one passive (unpowered). The study focused primarily on the passive detective detection module, an open circuit composed of human hair glued between two small pieces of polystyrene. It was found that the DKL Model 3 passive detection module, as well as other models designed using the same basic concept are not based upon the principle of dielectrophoresis nor on any other accepted scientific principles.