Emergency Services /

Search & Rescue

These two headings both fall under the same category, but in reality they are two very different things. Following is a quick description of some common drone use scenarios in this category. Please note that these scenarios by no means constitute an exhaustive list!

 

Search and Rescue, as it’s name implies, is to locate and rescue missing or trapped people. In the first “search” stage, time is especially important, especially in the first few days, as people can last for weeks without food, but only a few days without water. However, this sense of urgency should never override the need to get properly briefed from the Operations Commander, or the need to thoroughly familiarise yourself with local conditions, before starting operations. Otherwise, accidents may occur, or time may be wasted searching areas that have already been thoroughly searched by other means.

 

Thermal cameras, carried on drones, have proven to be a valuable resource in the rapid location of missing people. Although the technology is very much subject to environmental factors, when used by a properly trained and experienced user, and when calibrated for local conditions at the time, thermal imaging will clearly show any heat source in the coverage area that the camera is looking at. If a high-resolution thermal camera is being used, the thermal image may allow the pilot to immediately differentiate between wildlife and humans, otherwise, a visual zoom camera or closer inspection will be needed to differentiate between the two.

 

Thermal cameras also have the advantage that they have no reliance on ambient lighting conditions. So, thermal cameras will even work in total darkness! In these conditions, it is also handy to have a spotlight on the drone, to assist in target verification.

 

Searching using RGB (visual) cameras for missing persons also has its place, especially when the target is moving, and hence easier to spot.

 

It is extremely important to keep a thorough record of the areas that a drone has searched, and to make sure that areas searched are done in a thorough, methodical fashion, to ensure that no area is missed. It is equally important to use a quality ranking system that realistically evaluates the “thoroughness” of any areas that have been searched, to make sure that searched areas are only crossed off the list if the search conditions for that search were consistent with a high likelihood of spotting the target. Otherwise, repeated searches will be needed, possibly using different methods, thus wasting valuable time.

 

In any event, the chances of finding some-one are multiplied when more eyes are watching the drone’s camera feed. This can be facilitated by either a local monitor connected to the drone's remote, or by livestreaming the camera feed to remote observers. The latter relies on a robust internet connection being available at the search site. Since many search sites are in remote areas, this requirement can sometimes be logistically challenging to provide! Fortunately, specialist hardware exists that allows multiple internet services, from diverse providers, to be bonded together to facilitate faster and more robust livestreaming.

 

Drones also play a part in rescue operations. In rescue situations, stranded persons will often be out of reach of conventional rescue craft, eg it may not be possible to safely launch a boat to get to a person stranded in raging floodwater. In these situations, drones can take out and drop a lifeline, that can then be used to rig up a flying fox or similar. A thin, strong line (such as fishing line) is initially carried out, which then serves as a drawstring to drag out progressively larger lines. Alternatively, supplies such as a mobile phone, space blanket, food and water etc can also be dropped, until conditions for the rescue improve. In these situations, remotely-controlled release hooks on the drone can drop items, without getting too close to the stranded person. However, even without this, it may still be possible to get sufficiently close to enable the stranded person to “catch” the drone and retrieve the payload.

 

Remotely-operated megaphones fitted to drones can also be useful to communicate with the target, in such scenarios.

 

Emergency Services have to deal with a completely different set of scenarios. A very common one in Australia is bushfires. The Operations Commander can have a drone put up within minutes of arriving on-site, to provide a very fast visual sitrep of where the firefront is at. Basic 2D orthomaps, stitched together from multiple photos and covering a large area, are also invaluable in this case.

 

The biggest problem for commercial operators is that CASA does not allow us to work in areas where the Emergency Services are operating, so this ruling effectively eliminates the possibility of commercial operators working with Emergency Services. Partly this is due to the issuing of special exemptions to Emergency Services to allow them to legally fly drones through smoke. Partly this is due to the complex nature of airspace where Emergency Services are operating, which requires close communication with other agencies and close monitoring of airband radios. Partly this is due to the fact that most commercial operators are not sufficiently skilled or experienced enough to operate in these conditions.

 

CDS Differentiators:

• My DJI Matrice 300 drone is the perfect, versatile workhorse to carry any payload, in any conditions! It has IP45 ingress protection rating, so can even be flown in the rain. It also boasts DJI’s PinPoint feature, which shows the co-ordinates of the highlighted point on-screen, and also transmits that info to your Ground Crew via DJI’s Flight Hub

• My H20T quad-sensor camera combines thermal, zoom, and wide-angle cameras into the one payload, for the ultimate solution in this space!

• My Pix4Dmapper software can provide a fast (low-res) 2D Orthomap and 3D Model. Using my 12-core portable workstation, this can be rapidly generated in the field, which hugely assists the Operations Commander by giving them rapid and up-to-date oversight of the area for their SitRep.

• My exclusive Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) offering provides real-time livestreaming of the drone’s camera feed, even out in the field

• I have an extremely comprehensively equipped and well-proven 4WD LandCruiser, specifically setup for continuous drone operations in extremely difficult and remote terrain. This makes for an ideal mobile command post. See vehicle section in CDS Resources

• I also have a 27” FHD TV monitor permanently mounted on a flexible fold-out arm in the LandCruiser, which can be directly connected to the drone’s remote controller to provide a large screen for local observers to watch for the target

• My Airdata UAV subscription automatically records a .kml file of the drone’s flight path, and automatically uploads it to the Airdata cloud for viewing!

• I have completed FLIR’s drone-specific thermal camera training

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