Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas
Search and rescue (SAR) is a vital line of defense against unnecessary loss of life. However,<br />in a potentially hazardous environment, it is important to balance the risks associated with SAR<br />action. Drones have the potential to help with the efficiency, success rate and safety...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Drones |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/3/4/78 |
| _version_ | 1818264428528795648 |
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| author | Claire Burke Paul R. McWhirter Josh Veitch-Michaelis Owen McAree Harry A.G. Pointon Serge Wich Steve Longmore |
| author_facet | Claire Burke Paul R. McWhirter Josh Veitch-Michaelis Owen McAree Harry A.G. Pointon Serge Wich Steve Longmore |
| author_sort | Claire Burke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Search and rescue (SAR) is a vital line of defense against unnecessary loss of life. However,<br />in a potentially hazardous environment, it is important to balance the risks associated with SAR<br />action. Drones have the potential to help with the efficiency, success rate and safety of SAR operations<br />as they can cover large or hard to access areas quickly. The addition of thermal cameras to the drones<br />provides the potential for automated and reliable detection of people in need of rescue. We performed<br />a pilot study with a thermal-equipped drone for SAR applications in Morecambe Bay. In a variety<br />of realistic SAR scenarios, we found that we could detect humans who would be in need of rescue,<br />both by the naked eye and by a simple automated method. We explore the current advantages and<br />limitations of thermal drone systems, and outline the future path to a useful system for deployment<br />in real-life SAR. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T19:34:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c8b93d1a3464e0194a3e1a2452ca4c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T19:34:45Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c8b93d1a3464e0194a3e1a2452ca4c92022-12-22T00:14:20ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2019-10-01347810.3390/drones3040078drones3040078Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal AreasClaire Burke0Paul R. McWhirter1Josh Veitch-Michaelis2Owen McAree3Harry A.G. Pointon4Serge Wich5Steve Longmore6Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UKAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UKSchool of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKFaculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKEngineering and Technology Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 3 Byrom St, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKSchool of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UKSearch and rescue (SAR) is a vital line of defense against unnecessary loss of life. However,<br />in a potentially hazardous environment, it is important to balance the risks associated with SAR<br />action. Drones have the potential to help with the efficiency, success rate and safety of SAR operations<br />as they can cover large or hard to access areas quickly. The addition of thermal cameras to the drones<br />provides the potential for automated and reliable detection of people in need of rescue. We performed<br />a pilot study with a thermal-equipped drone for SAR applications in Morecambe Bay. In a variety<br />of realistic SAR scenarios, we found that we could detect humans who would be in need of rescue,<br />both by the naked eye and by a simple automated method. We explore the current advantages and<br />limitations of thermal drone systems, and outline the future path to a useful system for deployment<br />in real-life SAR.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/3/4/78search and rescuethermal infraredastro-ecology |
| spellingShingle | Claire Burke Paul R. McWhirter Josh Veitch-Michaelis Owen McAree Harry A.G. Pointon Serge Wich Steve Longmore Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas Drones search and rescue thermal infrared astro-ecology |
| title | Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas |
| title_full | Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas |
| title_fullStr | Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas |
| title_short | Requirements and Limitations of Thermal Drones for Effective Search and Rescue in Marine and Coastal Areas |
| title_sort | requirements and limitations of thermal drones for effective search and rescue in marine and coastal areas |
| topic | search and rescue thermal infrared astro-ecology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/3/4/78 |
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