scholarly journals A Laser Scanner And Void Visualizer For Use In A Search And Rescue Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Somers
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Slow Speed ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
3D Data ◽  
Explosive Devices ◽  
Resolution Data

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) environments present many risks to emergency first responders. Technologies that can allow people to explore dangerous locations in great detail while being physically separate from them are of great value. This thesis provides an intuitive 3D viewing application called Voidviz for just that purpose, with features specifically designed for USAR and bomb identification. It is tested using 3D data gathered by two devices: a computerized theodolite, and a custom built laser scanner. The theodolite was found to be impractical for scanning dangerous locations due to its low resolution and slow speed, but the custom laser scanner was able to gather high resolution data at a useful speed. This thesis shows that useful data can be derived from sufficiently detailed simulations of voids within building collapses and unexploded explosive devices. This data can be used to increase the situational awareness of first responders.

scholarly journals A Laser Scanner And Void Visualizer For Use In A Search And Rescue Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Somers
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Slow Speed ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
3D Data ◽  
Explosive Devices ◽  
Resolution Data

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) environments present many risks to emergency first responders. Technologies that can allow people to explore dangerous locations in great detail while being physically separate from them are of great value. This thesis provides an intuitive 3D viewing application called Voidviz for just that purpose, with features specifically designed for USAR and bomb identification. It is tested using 3D data gathered by two devices: a computerized theodolite, and a custom built laser scanner. The theodolite was found to be impractical for scanning dangerous locations due to its low resolution and slow speed, but the custom laser scanner was able to gather high resolution data at a useful speed. This thesis shows that useful data can be derived from sufficiently detailed simulations of voids within building collapses and unexploded explosive devices. This data can be used to increase the situational awareness of first responders.

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in urban search and rescue-methodology, capacity development, and integration

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Ariel Braverman, BSc, RN, EMT-P
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Emergency Operations ◽  
Ventilation Ducts ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Modernization Process ◽  
Roadless Areas ◽  
Aerial Systems

This paper’s purpose is to establish a methodological basis for using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in urban search and rescue (USAR). Modern USAR operations involve the location, rescue (extrication), and initial medical stabilization of individuals trapped in confined spaces or places with complicated access, eg, high structures. As a part of the ongoing modernization process, this paper explores possible options for UAV utilization in USAR operations. Today, UAV are already taking part in support emergency operations all over the world, and possible forms of operation for UAV in USAR environment can be in two primary modes: on-site and logistic chain. The on-site mode includes various capabilities of multilayer UAV array, mostly based on enhanced visual capabilities to create situational awareness and to speed-up search and rescue (SAR) process including using nanodrones for entering into confined places, ventilation ducts, and underground sewer channels can give to rescue teams’ opportunities to have eyes within ruins even before initial clearing process. Cargo drones will be able to bring equipment directly to high floors or roadless areas in comparison to wheeled transportation. The advantages of cargo drones operation are the ability of autonomous flight based on GPS or homing beacon and ability to provide logistics supports without involving additional personnel and vehicles and with no dependence on road conditions.

scholarly journals AiRobSim: Simulating a Multisensor Aerial Robot for Urban Search and Rescue Operation and Training

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 5223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junjie Chen ◽  
Shuai Li ◽  
Donghai Liu ◽  
Xueping Li
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Measurement Unit ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Critical Spaces ◽  
Rescue Operation ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Urban Disaster ◽  
Aerial Robot

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), equipped with a variety of sensors, are being used to provide actionable information to augment first responders’ situational awareness in disaster areas for urban search and rescue (SaR) operations. However, existing aerial robots are unable to sense the occluded spaces in collapsed structures, and voids buried in disaster rubble that may contain victims. In this study, we developed a framework, AiRobSim, to simulate an aerial robot to acquire both aboveground and underground information for post-disaster SaR. The integration of UAV, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and other sensors, such as global navigation satellite system (GNSS), inertial measurement unit (IMU), and cameras, enables the aerial robot to provide a holistic view of the complex urban disaster areas. The robot-collected data can help locate critical spaces under the rubble to save trapped victims. The simulation framework can serve as a virtual training platform for novice users to control and operate the robot before actual deployment. Data streams provided by the platform, which include maneuver commands, robot states and environmental information, have potential to facilitate the understanding of the decision-making process in urban SaR and the training of future intelligent SaR robots.

scholarly journals Urban Search and Rescue Situational Awareness using DIORAMA Disaster Management System

2015 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 349-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aura Ganz ◽  
James M. Schafer ◽  
Jingyan Tang ◽  
Zhuorui Yang ◽  
Jun Yi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Disaster Management System

scholarly journals THE AUGMENTATION OF URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE DOGS WITH SENSING, CONTROL AND ACTUATION—EXTENDING THE METAPHOR, “DOG AS ROBOT”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Quang Minh Ngoc Tran
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Detection System ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Visual Odometry ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Interest Points ◽  
Remote Communication ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Blurred Images

When disaster strikes in urban areas, the devastating results are collapsed structures that may contain voids, and trapped people within. To a large extent, the speed with which these victims can be found and extricated determines the likelihood of their survival. Specially trained and equipped emergency first responders are tasked with trying to save their lives by locating and extricating trapped victims from these dangerous environments. Telepresence systems can help first responders search for casualties from a safe location. Most automated search systems intended for use in urban disasters, come in the form of remotely operated robots. This work takes a different approach to telepresence and robotics. This work is an extension of previous work that exploits the intelligence and characteristics of trained search dogs combined with compatible technology and used as components in new kinds of telepresence systems for urban search and rescue (USAR) operations. The Canine Remote Deployment System (CRDS) is a tool that emergency responders can use to deliver critical supplies to trapped victims in rubble using dogs. The first contribution of this work is the development of the bark detection system for automatically triggering deployment of packages near trapped victims from the CRDS-guaranteeing accurate package deployment even when remote communication with the dog is impossible. A well-known ground robot problem is the difficulty in designing a mobility mechanism to traverse rubble. Another contribution of this thesis is the Canine Assisted Robot Deployment (CARD) framework and the design of a robot capable of being carried by a search dog. This work extends the responder’s telepresence in rescue operations by bringing robots much deeper into the disaster site than current methods. Visual odometry is used in location tracking in GPS-denied environments and can be used in rescue operations. This research explores the limitation of RGB-D cameras for visual odometry for this application. An algorithm called pseudo-Random Interest Points Extractor was developed iv to track images over visually feature-sparse areas with the potential use of visually reconstructing canine search paths to victims. This work concentrates on using visual odometry from data collected from a search dog-mounted RGB-D camera. The task of model stabilization is difficult due to the nature of dog’s constant and unpredictable movements, asthe data contains many motion blurred images. The development of an algorithm called Intelligent Frame Selector is shown to improve visual odometry for systems carried by search dogs by intelligently filtering data and selecting only usable frames. The algorithm can be applied to any general visual odometry pipeline beneficially as the technique reduces cumulative error problems by using less data.

Equipment Distribution for Structural Stabilization and Civilian Rescue

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Y. Chen ◽  
Feniosky Peña-Mora ◽  
Saumil J. Mehta ◽  
Stuart Foltz ◽  
Albert P. Plans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
System Development ◽  
Structural Condition ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Electronic Resource ◽  
Structural Stabilization ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Equipment Operator

The efficiency of Urban Search and Rescue operations depends on the supply of appropriate equipment and resources, and an efficient damage assessment facilitates deployment of these resources. This paper presents an Information Technology (IT) supported system for on-site data collection to communicate structural condition, track search and rescue status, and request and allocate appropriate resources. The system provides a unified interface for efficient gathering, storing, and sharing of building assessment information. Visualization and access of such information enable rescuers to respond to the disaster more efficiently with better situational awareness. The IT system also provides an interface for electronic resource requests to a geospatial resource repository service that enables a spatial disaster management environment for resource allocation. Request and deployment of critical resources through this system enables lifesaving efforts, with the appropriate equipment, operator, and materials, to become more efficient and effective. System development at the Illinois Fire Service Institute has shown promising results.

Equipment Distribution for Structural Stabilization and Civilian Rescue

2013 ◽  
pp. 20-32
Author(s):  
Albert Y. Chen ◽  
Feniosky Peña-Mora ◽  
Saumil J. Mehta ◽  
Stuart Foltz ◽  
Albert P. Plans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
System Development ◽  
Structural Condition ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Electronic Resource ◽  
Structural Stabilization ◽  
Building Assessment ◽  
Effective System

The efficiency of Urban Search and Rescue operations depends on the supply of appropriate equipment and resources, and an efficient damage assessment facilitates deployment of these resources. This paper presents an Information Technology (IT) supported system for on-site data collection to communicate structural condition, track search and rescue status, and request and allocate appropriate resources. The system provides a unified interface for efficient gathering, storing, and sharing of building assessment information. Visualization and access of such information enable rescuers to respond to the disaster more efficiently with better situational awareness. The IT system also provides an interface for electronic resource requests to a geospatial resource repository service that enables a spatial disaster management environment for resource allocation. Request and deployment of critical resources through this system enables lifesaving efforts, with the appropriate equipment, operator, and materials, to become more efficient and effective. System development at the Illinois Fire Service Institute has shown promising results.

scholarly journals An enhanced system for augmenting urban search and rescue canines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Gerdzhev
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Mesh Networks ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Harsh Environment ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Wireless Mesh ◽  
Available Information

One of the most critical factors in urban search and rescue is time, as the chances of finding someone alive diminish with time. Emergency responders locate casualties, plan their rescue based on the available information, and then extract them. Measures are taken to do this as safely as possible as the harsh environment may lead to rescuers being injured. Our research demonstrates how emergency responders can obtain more information about the victim and the collapse faster, while potentially increasing their Situational Awareness (SA), and thus decreasing the time to rescue of the casualties. The system described is an enhanced version of Canine Augmentation Technology (CAT) -- a telepresence system for augmenting search canines. CAT integrates different technologies like wireless mesh networks, wearable computing, sensors, and software for recording, streaming, and scrubbing of video. The goal of our research is to reduce the time to rescue of victims by providing more relevant information to rescuers faster.

scholarly journals THE AUGMENTATION OF URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE DOGS WITH SENSING, CONTROL AND ACTUATION—EXTENDING THE METAPHOR, “DOG AS ROBOT”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Quang Minh Ngoc Tran
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Detection System ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Visual Odometry ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Interest Points ◽  
Remote Communication ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Blurred Images

When disaster strikes in urban areas, the devastating results are collapsed structures that may contain voids, and trapped people within. To a large extent, the speed with which these victims can be found and extricated determines the likelihood of their survival. Specially trained and equipped emergency first responders are tasked with trying to save their lives by locating and extricating trapped victims from these dangerous environments. Telepresence systems can help first responders search for casualties from a safe location. Most automated search systems intended for use in urban disasters, come in the form of remotely operated robots. This work takes a different approach to telepresence and robotics. This work is an extension of previous work that exploits the intelligence and characteristics of trained search dogs combined with compatible technology and used as components in new kinds of telepresence systems for urban search and rescue (USAR) operations. The Canine Remote Deployment System (CRDS) is a tool that emergency responders can use to deliver critical supplies to trapped victims in rubble using dogs. The first contribution of this work is the development of the bark detection system for automatically triggering deployment of packages near trapped victims from the CRDS-guaranteeing accurate package deployment even when remote communication with the dog is impossible. A well-known ground robot problem is the difficulty in designing a mobility mechanism to traverse rubble. Another contribution of this thesis is the Canine Assisted Robot Deployment (CARD) framework and the design of a robot capable of being carried by a search dog. This work extends the responder’s telepresence in rescue operations by bringing robots much deeper into the disaster site than current methods. Visual odometry is used in location tracking in GPS-denied environments and can be used in rescue operations. This research explores the limitation of RGB-D cameras for visual odometry for this application. An algorithm called pseudo-Random Interest Points Extractor was developed iv to track images over visually feature-sparse areas with the potential use of visually reconstructing canine search paths to victims. This work concentrates on using visual odometry from data collected from a search dog-mounted RGB-D camera. The task of model stabilization is difficult due to the nature of dog’s constant and unpredictable movements, asthe data contains many motion blurred images. The development of an algorithm called Intelligent Frame Selector is shown to improve visual odometry for systems carried by search dogs by intelligently filtering data and selecting only usable frames. The algorithm can be applied to any general visual odometry pipeline beneficially as the technique reduces cumulative error problems by using less data.

scholarly journals An enhanced system for augmenting urban search and rescue canines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Gerdzhev
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Mesh Networks ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Harsh Environment ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Wireless Mesh ◽  
Available Information

One of the most critical factors in urban search and rescue is time, as the chances of finding someone alive diminish with time. Emergency responders locate casualties, plan their rescue based on the available information, and then extract them. Measures are taken to do this as safely as possible as the harsh environment may lead to rescuers being injured. Our research demonstrates how emergency responders can obtain more information about the victim and the collapse faster, while potentially increasing their Situational Awareness (SA), and thus decreasing the time to rescue of the casualties. The system described is an enhanced version of Canine Augmentation Technology (CAT) -- a telepresence system for augmenting search canines. CAT integrates different technologies like wireless mesh networks, wearable computing, sensors, and software for recording, streaming, and scrubbing of video. The goal of our research is to reduce the time to rescue of victims by providing more relevant information to rescuers faster.

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