Developing an Improved Graphic User Interface for Avalanche Transceivers

Abstract

Avalanche burials, thus far, are an unsolvable problem that regularly threaten the lives of outdoor enthusiasts and cold climate residents. The most important device to carry when in an area at-risk for avalanches is an avalanche transceiver. These devices switch from Transmit mode to Search mode depending on whether they are needed for rescue or search and are built to work in the worst of conditions. Because they are designed with constraints requiring battery longevity, high reliability, and usability in any environment, there is a considerable learning curve in their use. This project was designed to take the information that an avalanche transceiver outputs during search and make it easier to use, simplifying the process of finding a buried avalanche transceiver. By combining GPS information and other sensor output from an Android tablet with avalanche transceiver output, past searcher locations, and magnetic dipole equations, I attempted to devise an algorithm that provides an estimation of the loca- tion of a buried avalanche transceiver and an application that displays this information along with a visualization of the search of an avalanche rescuer.