scholarly journals A GRASP-Based Approach for Planning UAV-Assisted Search and Rescue Missions

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Casper Bak Pedersen ◽  
Kasper Gaj Nielsen ◽  
Kasper Rosenkrands ◽  
Alex Elkjær Vasegaard ◽  
Peter Nielsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Sensors ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Search Region ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Solution Approach ◽  
Missing Persons ◽  
Search Area ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Fast Solution

Search and Rescue (SAR) missions aim to search and provide first aid to persons in distress or danger. Due to the urgency of these situations, it is important to possess a system able to take fast action and effectively and efficiently utilise the available resources to conduct the mission. In addition, the potential complexity of the search such as the ruggedness of terrain or large size of the search region should be considered. Such issues can be tackled by using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with optical sensors. This can ensure the efficiency in terms of speed, coverage and flexibility required to conduct this type of time-sensitive missions. This paper centres on designing a fast solution approach for planning UAV-assisted SAR missions. The challenge is to cover an area where targets (people in distress after a hurricane or earthquake, lost vessels in sea, missing persons in mountainous area, etc.) can be potentially found with a variable likelihood. The search area is modelled using a scoring map to support the choice of the search sub-areas, where the scores represent the likelihood of finding a target. The goal of this paper is to propose a heuristic approach to automate the search process using scarce heterogeneous resources in the most efficient manner.

scholarly journals Strategies to Locate Lost Persons with Dementia: A Case Study of Ontario First Responders

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
N. A. Neubauer ◽  
A. Miguel-Cruz ◽  
L. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Practice Guideline ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Missing Persons ◽  
Education And Awareness ◽  
Funding Information

Information on strategies and practices in the search of missing persons with dementia is inconsistent which creates challenges for first responders, such as police, when they choose appropriate search and rescue approaches. The purpose of this study was to describe current strategies among police services in Ontario. Telephone interviews with police were conducted. Questions included what strategies were used for locating missing persons living with dementia, and what gaps exist in search practices. Participants described they used high- and low-tech solutions in search and rescue. They identified gaps in education and awareness, proactive strategies, resources, and funding. Information collected from the interviews was used to develop a practice guideline for police in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario.

scholarly journals Salivary Cortisol Interactions in Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Wojtaś ◽  
Mirosław Karpiński ◽  
Piotr Czyżowski
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Biological Material ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Pronounced Effect ◽  
Strong Interactions ◽  
Stress Reactions ◽  
Hormone Concentration ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Missing Persons ◽  
Exam Stress

Search and rescue dogs are an important link in the search for missing persons. The aim of the study was to assess exam stress in search and rescue dogs and their handlers. The study included 41 rescue teams taking exams of field and rubble specialties. The level of cortisol, which is the main glucocorticosteroid modulating stress reactions in humans and dogs, was analyzed. The biological material used to assess the hormone concentration was saliva collected in a non-invasive way. In total, 164 test samples were collected: two from the dog and two from the handler before and immediately after the exam. Rescue exams were shown to significantly increase salivary cortisol in both dogs and their handlers. Strong interactions between cortisol levels in human–dog teams were also found with a more pronounced effect in female dog–female handler dyads.

MISSING OLDER PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA — A HONG KONG VIEW

2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (02) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLAUDIA K.Y. LAI ◽  
JENNY C.C. CHUNG ◽  
THOMAS K.S. WONG ◽  
LAWRENCE W. FAULKNER ◽  
LOUISE NG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Electronic Database ◽  
Missing Persons ◽  
Local Newspapers ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
A Prospective Study

This paper reviews missing person incidents that occurred in older persons with dementia reported in local newspapers from 1 January 1999 to 1 May 2002. Ten relevant incidents, two of which happened to the same person, were found in WiseNews, an electronic database of 21 local newspapers. There were four (44%) males and five (56%) females with a mean age of 77 (standard deviation=5). In six (60%) cases, the missing persons eloped from home and four (40%) outside of home. Nine (90%) of the cases required less than a day to three days to locate the missing person. Six (60%) cases resulted in injuries or death due to falls or traffic accidents. It is not uncommon for dementia patients to get lost. Public awareness and understanding of the phenomenon is very important because the survival of missing persons depends on the implementation of timely and effective search and rescue. This analysis confirms the need for a prospective study to further examine the characteristics of missing older adults and missing incidents, as well as the search strategies adopted by caregivers. 这篇文章旨在回顾由一九九九年一月一日至二零零二年五月一日以来在本地报章上报导过的有关老年痴呆症患者走失的个案。WiseNews是一个包含二十一份本地报章的电子资料库。我们通过WiseNews搜索到十宗有关的报导，其中两宗个案发生在同一个患者身上。走失患者当中有四名男性，五名女性，年龄由七十到八十六岁［平均数：七十七］。在六宗［六成］走失个案当中，患者是从居所走失的，而另外四宗［四成］则发生在居所以外的地方。九宗［九成］个案需要少於一天至三天的时间去寻回走失患者。六宗［六成］个案涉及受伤或死亡。走失现象在老年痴呆症患者当中颇为普遍，走失患者的安危取决於及时和有效率的搜索及拯救策略。因此，大众需要对这现象有更多的了解。本文的分析显示本地需要对此问题作前瞻性的调查，使本地社会及健康服务从业员能掌握走失痴呆症患者的特徵，一般走失的情况及照顾者面对这问题的策略，从而提供合宜的协助。

Locating Firefighters in Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Environments

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 1702-1705
Author(s):  
Yousif Abulhassan ◽  
Doug DeMoulin
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Environmental Stressors ◽  
Grid Search ◽  
Radio Communications ◽  
Search Area ◽  
Frequency Identification ◽  
Communication Methods

Locating injured firefighters is critical in immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) environments where they can be overcome by smoke, or exposed to other environmental stressors. Auditory and visual communication technologies such as Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) devices and radio communications are often used to locate firefighters entering IDLH environments. However, the reliability of these communication methods can be detrimental in pinpointing the location of an injured firefighter due to unconsciousness, disorientation, or unfamiliarity with the layout of the building. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of visibility conditions, rescuer familiarity with the search area, and search and rescue method on the time needed to locate victims in an IDLH environment. Results of the study indicated that time needed to locate victims could be significantly reduced when using a radio frequency identification (RFID) based real time locating method compared to a traditional grid search rescue method.

Search Area Determination and Search Unit Deployment

1987 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Astbury
Keyword(s):  
Initial Position ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Search Area ◽  
Error Treatment ◽  
Area Determination

In any maritime emergency where time elapses from the start of the incident to the arrival of rescue units it is necessary to establish the most probable survivor area. The procedure for establishing a most probable area is known as search area determination and requires the calculation of one position from another, known respectively as the datum point (DP) – the most probable position of survivors – and the last known position (LKP) – the incident position with recourse to the effects of tide and wind. Under the present manual methodology of the search and rescue planning system (USCG 1973), the DP is given an error treatment comprising drift initial position and search and rescue unit navigational (SRU) errors. Error calculations produce a search area radius (R) which is ‘boxed’ and referenced by four corner coordinates given in latitude and longitude.

Optical sensors for urban search and rescue operations

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aki P. Mäyrä ◽  
Agapios Agapiou ◽  
Lars Hildebrand ◽  
Kai M. Ojala ◽  
Katerina Mikedi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Sensors ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Urban Search And Rescue
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