FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A Fresno State Associate Professor has patented a device that will help make search and rescue missions for firefighters easier. The new A.I.-based device will be able to help firefighters see humans and animals through heavy smoke. "The firefighters... they go through so much. And I said, why don't I just simplify and make their life a little bit easier," Dr. Hovannes Kulhandjian, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering said.  The device that started with three students working on a senior design project will someday have real-time ability to detect humans and animals through thick smoke. Dr. Kulhandjian says he helped create the technology in part because he wanted to put Fresno State's resources and A.I. technology to good use. "My main goal was to first help out the firefighters and help save lives because every second matters the quicker you identify those humans or animals," Dr. Kulhandjian said.  The device is made up of several sensors, including an infrared camera that can see through smoke and radar. "Infrared camera can kick in and identify where they're located. For the radar, when they're moving like a cat is moving around, the captured images of the infrared camera, like a video camera, it's harder to track and you know, get a nice visual. So, the radar now kicks in and that provides the information," Dr. Kulhandjian said.  It will also have a microphone array, providing audio signals from different directions to find exactly where the human or animal is located. The device will eventually be created into a handheld device and other gadgets. "It can also be deployed on a drone or a rover, or a robot that can go into the mission before the firefighters," Dr. Kulhandjian said.  Dr. Kuhlhandjian says inventions like these will be the new norm and Fresno State will continue to utilize their cutting-edge technology for future projects. "I think the future is bright in terms of our Fresno State graduates pursuing artificial intelligence research and going into the industry and creating these new technologies that we are seeing and living in this era," Dr. Kulhandjian said.  To learn more about Dr. Kuhlhandjian, his future projects and research, click here.