Drones for Water Search and Rescue

 

The use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or “drones” for a wide variety of operations and businesses has been dramatically increasing both nationally and internationally.  The drone regulatory environment in the United States continues to evolve. New drone capabilities and more effective ways to use these capabilities are constantly being developed and implemented. Drones have quickly become the most widely used tool for many industries. From Police and Fire Departments to agriculture and energy operations, drones have become essential to boosting safety and productivity.

How does this important capability improve the SAR planner’s ability to search for persons in distress? Which drone is appropriate and most effective for a search based on the circumstances of the case? How does the SAR Mission Coordinator (SMC)/Incident Commander (IC) gain approval to use drones for a particular SAR operation? These are challenging questions that must be answered before contemplating the use of UAS in a particular SAR mission.

SAR Coordinators (SCs), SMCs/ICs, State, Tribal, Territorial/Insular Area, local SAR authorities, and volunteers interested in using UAS for SAR will also find important information and guidance in this Addendum in the development, management, and operation of their UAS programs.

What About Drones for Water Search and Rescue

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in using Drones in support of water search and rescue.  Regardless of the type of water from flood, river, swiftwater, coastal, ocean, surf or ice, a drone can be another valuable tool in your toolbox to effectively, efficiently and most important of all safely assist with the conduct water search and rescue operations.

However, there is little evidence that they are used in a structured and strategic manner to best effect. An effective response is essential if lives are to be saved and suffering alleviated.

"In order to realize the true value of a drone’s capabilities in water search and rescue, Drone Pilots and SAR authorities from the Incident Commander (IC) on down need to gain experience by employing drones on actual SAR operations and in training.  Only then will you realize that drones provide another tool in the toolbox for the Incident Commanders that can and will prove invaluable."

A search and rescue drone used by emergency services, such as police officers, firefighters or volunteer rescue teams, is ideal for searching over vast areas for missing persons in need of rescue and in any environment.  Search times can be significantly reduced while limiting potential risk to the party being rescued as well as rescuers. There are many options and benefits to using drones for water search and rescue.

With a lifetime in all water environments to include coastal, ocean, surf, swiftwater, flood and ice rescue, safety, and over ten years in drone operations for public safety. SAS Water Safety and EMMU Aerial’s instructors can help your agency evaluate how drones can be used in the preparation for, and response to all water search and rescue emergencies.  We can also provide assistance with all your training requirements and develops standard operating procedures (SOP) for their deployment before, during and after an event.

The Drones for Water Search and Rescue Course was developed and designed to be taught in a three day format with 1 day classroom and 2 days situational field / flight training, where students already have a FAA Part 107 with basic flight knowledge and experience in land search and rescue. Students will gain knowledge and practical experience in hydrology and moving water dynamics, pre-planning, size-up, site control, scene management, drone platforms and payloads, aerial search techniques, rescue mission support, thermal imaging, night operations and lost person behavior. The course will enable the students to identify clearly their own limitations as well as those of the equipment, so that they will be able to utilize drones more safely and effectively.

Contact SAS Water Safety or EMMU Aerial today for more information on integrating drones into water search and rescue.

Dye-dropping DJI Mavic 2 drones to help stop drownings in Australia

In Australia, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Drone program has commissioned a number of dye-dropping DJI Mavic 2 drones, that can drop sea marker dye into the ocean that allows lifesavers on the beach to more easily spot riptides and help stop drownings. Read more 

Do you have a story of drones coming to the rescue or assisting your agency? Please share in the comments.

Drone - Dry Lifesavers Take To The Skies - Surf Life Saving NSW

Surf Life Saving NSW has had a long association with aviation over its 112-year history – operating both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for search and rescue and marine creature surveillance. Now a new breed of ‘dry lifesaver’ is being trained to use unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) technology to help keep beachgoers safe on the NSW coastline.

SLSNSW February 18, 2020

In 2018 Surf Life Saving NSW became a gazetted emergency service organisation. Volunteers can be asked to respond to calls for assistance alongside police, ambulance and other emergency service organisations.

To enhance its capability, SLSNSW has established an extensive unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program to assist with beach safety, coastal surveillance, surf sports event management and search and rescue. UAVs, or drones as they’re more commonly known, have quickly become an integral part of surf life saving operations.

In December 2018, Surf Life Saving Australia partnered with Westpac to launch the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Drone Program. This saw 35 drones take to the skies across the NSW coastline as part of Australia’s first comprehensive approach to search and rescue using innovative drone technology.

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Drones are used by surf lifesavers and lifeguards to support rescue operations along Australia’s coastline and assist with critical response surveillance during emergencies.

In addition to search and rescue operations, SLSNSW has partnered with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) for marine creature surveillance and operates 30 UAVs through this partnership. An additional 25 training UAVs will be added to the SLSNSW fleet during 2020.

UAVs are now used extensively in surf life saving patrols. The UAVs used are in the sub-2kg category and incorporate a high-definition camera and loudspeaker. Operating in almost 50 locations, SLSNSW currently has almost 70 drones working constantly along the NSW coastline.

“We initially introduced drones as a tool to complement all our other assets and resources. With the increase in technology, they’re becoming an essential part of our search and rescue operations,” said Paul Hardy, UAV Operations Coordinator and Chief Remote Pilot.

With over 70 drones in the air along the NSW coastline, keeping track of their exact location can be challenging. SLSNSW employs a number of flight tracking technologies including AVCRM (a cloud-based regulatory and compliance portal for all UAV operations) and AIRDATA (a cloud-based system to provide additional visibility to the UAV team on flight compliance and aircraft diagnostics) - which is used to track and log all flights.

Surf Life Saving operates in both the Commercial Excluded and Remote Operators Certificate (ReOC) categories and has advanced RePL trained pilots in many locations. It adheres to all the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) safety requirements.

UAVs are becoming an essential tool in surf rescue

SLSNSW Seeks Dry Lifesavers

New UAV technology has enabled SLSNSW to create a new breed of “dry lifesaver” – volunteers who needn’t have any swimming ability to become a patrolling surf lifesaver. Pilots come from diverse backgrounds and include Qantas pilots right through to people with little or no aviation background whatsoever.

“We train pilots from diverse backgrounds. We encourage anyone who’s interested in becoming a UAV pilot to contact us, regardless of previous surf life saving or aviation experience,” said Paul Hardy from SLSNSW.

SLSNSW is actively recruiting and training pilots to boost its pool of 80 paid and 190 volunteer UAV pilots. SLSNSW runs its own pilot training programs along the NSW coastline.

Training consists of an internal training package delivered via a mix of theoretical and practical coaching and assessments. This is delivered to UAV pilots operating in the sub-2kg Commercial Excluded Category and exceeds CASA’s training requirements.

Beach Safety and UAV Awareness

Surf Life Saving NSW is focused on safety and procedures are in place to ensure that CASA rules and regulations are adhered to at all times.

Surf Life Saving NSW’s primary responsibility is to keep beaches safe for the public and its UAV operators actively educate private drone operators about the laws surrounding UAV use on and above beaches.

“Members of the public are increasingly aware that because SLSNSW is an emergency service organisation, they are unable to fly private drones at the beach when our UAVs are operating in the area,” said Paul Hardy, SLSNSW UAV Operations Coordinator.

“Beaches are an attractive place to fly drones and are used widely by the public to film activities like surfing and sailing and marine life like whales, dolphins and sharks. However, there are strict guidelines in place for the operation of UAVs near people and marine life.

“We encourage all private UAV pilots to familiarise themselves with rules for flying drones at the beach before they launch a drone,” he said.

With a presence at 129 of the most visited beaches across NSW, surf clubs are a frontline for communicating flight safety messaging to private drone pilots who may not be familiar with the regulations.

Surf Life Saving NSW continues to adopt new technology as it strives to achieve its goal of zero preventable deaths on the NSW coastline. Given its early success in surf life saving operations, it’s clear that UAV drone technology will continue to play an important part in coastal drownings prevention measures.

Resort Officials Sign Off On Ambitious Drone Program

The Dispatch January 30, 2020

OCEAN CITY-  The future has arrived in Ocean City with a plan approved this week to utilize Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones for all manner of public safety and other applications.

For the last several months, Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulatory agencies to allow Ocean City to begin implementing a UAS, or drone, program in a variety of capacities over the skies of the resort. The use of drones for public safety and other governmental interests is certainly not new, but Theobald and his staff has been working closely with the FAA and other regulatory agencies to tailor a suitable program that meets the resort’s specific needs.

On Tuesday, Theobald presented the Mayor and Council with an outline of the UAS program. Already the town has secured three of the aircraft through grant funding and has worked through the approval process with restrictions appropriate to the resort area.

“This is something that has been under consideration for about 20 months,” he said. “This is a tool that’s good for the town from a public safety standpoint and a myriad of other uses. It’s been a tedious approval process, but we wanted to establish a program that meets all of our needs and complies with all federal guidelines.”

The sky’s the limit, so to speak, for the town’s budding drone program in a variety of uses. For example, from a law enforcement standpoint, the drones can be used for aerial surveillance during incidents and accidents and they can be used to provide aerial images of special events and other areas where large crowds gather.

From the fire department standpoint, the UAS can provide firefighters and first-responders with real-time aerial images of active fires and other emergency situations, allowing the department to best direct operations from the ground. The Beach Patrol and other first-responders will be able to use the drones for water search and rescue missions, and the UAS can also be used to survey post-storm beach erosion, flooding and other uses.

What the drones won’t be used for, according to Theobald, is to survey everyday crowds on the beach or Boardwalk or any purposes that would hint at spying on residents and visitors. The tedious approval process went to great lengths to ensure the drones are used for their intended purposes.

“The public needs to have an expectation of what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “The tenets of the program are privacy and civil liberties. The public has to buy into this. We don’t want the perception that Big Brother is flying around watching everything. That is not the intent of the program.”

Theobald said the relative remote nature of the resort away from major airports and heavy aircraft traffic areas somewhat eased some of the restrictions placed on drone usage in other areas.

“We don’t have a lot of the restrictions that other areas in Maryland would have,” he said. “We don’t have to worry about BWI, and we don’t have to worry about Salisbury. Our geographic location is really perfect for this program.”

For that reason, some restrictions imposed on drone usage in other areas won’t apply in the resort area.

“Again, it’s been a tedious process, but we’ve been granted the authority to do certain things because of our approvals,” he said. “The groundwork is done on some of these things. For example, we will be able to fly over people and we’ll be able to fly at night.”

Already, Ocean City has secured three of the approved UAS. The next step is training operators to fly them. The potential pool of candidates will likely come from police, fire and other emergency personnel, but the program could be open to other town employees.

“We were able to purchase three aircraft through grants and they are equipped with cameras and spotlights,” he said. “We didn’t want to spend a lot of money up front. We want to walk first and get the program up and running before we get running with it. We’re asking for your support so we can pursue this further. The goal now is to get 10 people certified to fly these drones. We have to start somewhere.”

Satisfied the program as presented did not represent a significant financial burden and that the requirements have been met and the privacy and civil liberties issues have been resolved, the council voted unanimously to approve the program.

“I’ve read a lot of articles in trade magazines about these programs and I can see a lot of uses for law enforcement, for engineering,” said Councilman Mark Paddack. “On the fire department side, I can see a lot of applications for them as well. Perhaps the most important thing I see is the Beach Patrol using these for search and rescue missions. From the ground level, it’s difficult to see a victim in the water.”

Drone Cuts Response Time in Boating Incident - Surf Life Saving NSW

Surf Life Saving Far South Coast Duty Officer Anthony Bellette was driving past Corrigan’s Beach on Friday 25 October, when he spotted a boat that looked like it was having engine problems.

“The boat was very close to the rocks at Snapper Island. We have a UAV (drone) in the Duty Officer car so I pulled over and launched it to get a better look,” said Anthony.

As the UAV approached the vessel, Anthony could see the v-sheet being displayed off the side of the boat indicating they were in need of assistance. He immediately called SurfCom who contacted Marine Rescue and tasked the Batemans Bay SLSC callout team to launch their IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat).

Anthony kept the UAV, part of the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Drone program, in the air to monitor the two crew aboard the disabled boat.

In the meantime, a passing vessel stopped to assist and was able to tow the boat back to the Batemans Bay boat ramp at Hanging Rock. There were no injuries to the two onboard.

Anthony said the addition of UAVs to the Duty Officer vehicles has been helpful on a number of occasions,. “The UAVs are the best way for us to respond quickly to incidents that might take up to 15 minutes to launch powercraft . Today was a great example of how efficiently we can identify and communicate during incidents to get the most appropriate assets deployed.”

This incident was also the first time the new Batemans Bay Support Operations storage facility was utilised. Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, a container has been positioned centrally at the Batemans Bay Marina which houses rapid response rescue equipment including an IRB, allowing
callout teams to respond more quickly to incidents north of town and around the river.

“The IRB used today was taken from this new facility,” said Anthony. “It’s great for quick access and will now cut up to 30 minutes from response times to after hours emergency situations,” said Anthony.

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Drone program operates at 25 locations and has trained 300 pilots across NSW. It is the first comprehensive national approach to surf rescue using innovative drone technology. The drones have given surf lifesavers the ability to have eyes in the sky to improve beach
surveillance, increase rescue response time, and decrease risks to members.

Wildwood Lifeguards Consider Using Drones to Help Save Lives

As technology keeps improving and as the Australians have shown us the benefits of drones, it is great to see more and more lifeguard agencies looking at drones as another tool in their toolbox.

Lifeguards in Wildwood, New Jersey, are considering using drones to help save lives and are putting the drone to the test.

Will These Rescue Drones Replace Lifeguards?

Larry Richardson November 3, 2018
Innovative life-saving drone tech could be coming to a beach near you. Delray Beach Ocean Rescue in Florida is the first lifeguard team in the United States to watch a demonstration of new drone technology designed to assist lifeguards in a rescue. In January 2018, the Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver drone helped save two teenage boys caught in wild surf off Lennox Beach in Australia. Now, the company that makes the rescue drones is bringing the lifesaving technology to the US.

On Friday, November 2, 2018, Eddie Bennet, CEO of Australia-based The Ripper Group International, led his crew in piloting two drones in blustery conditions with moderate surf. The pilots located swimmers in less than a minute and dropped rescue pods that inflated on contact with the water. In an actual emergency, the drones would be used to locate the victims, drop rescue pods and monitor their condition until lifeguards could reach them.

Ripper Group engineers take off-the-shelf DJI drones and modify them. All feature cameras and the system that releases the rescue pods. The larger drone also has a powerful speaker and siren. The company also has a division that trains first-responders in their use.

Thank you to Delray Beach Ocean Rescue and The Ripper Group International for the opportunity to record this event. You can find out more about The Ripper Group International at littleripper.com.

Rescue drones begin operations in Baltic Sea

 

For the first time, drones equipped with Restube-buoys will be used on the Baltic Sea coast in Germany to give help to swimmers in distress

For the first time, drones equipped with Restube-buoys will be used on the Baltic Sea coast in Germany to give help to swimmers in distress. Start-Up company RESTUBE GMBH equipped the lifeguards of the German Red Cross division with its safety device for drones for all 14 beaches at the Baltic Sea.

Water Rescue in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania started officially at the beginning of the 2018 swimming season. Restubes do not replace lifeguards but the time until the person in water receives flotation assistance can be reduced radically with its deployment. Once the Restube-buoy is dropped, it inflates automatically with water contact so that the rescued person can hold on until a lifeguard arrives.

The lifeguards of the German Red Cross Division operate 18 Restube equipped drones at 14 beach sections at the Baltic Sea as well as on four inland lakes.

Drone Rescues Swimmers Caught in Rough Surf in Australia in World First

January 18, 2018
Caught in rough surf far from shore, stranded swimmers might hope for a lifeguard to appear amid the waves.

But for two men recently rescued off the coast of Australia's Lennox Head, New South Wales (NSW), a different kind of savior showed up: a drone.

In what's being hailed as a first-of-its-kind rescue, the new lifesaving device -- the Little Ripper UAV -- flew into action after someone spotted the swimmers in distress in a nearly 10-foot (3-meter) swell more than a half mile (about 1 kilometer) off a patrolled area, Surf Life Saving NSW said in a news release.

Within minutes, lifeguards piloted the drone to the men and dropped an inflatable life preserver.

The two clung to the rescue pod and made it to shore, where lifeguards were waiting, Surf Life Saving NSW said. They were exhausted but unharmed. And the drone had recorded the whole rescue.

"The Little Ripper UAV certainly proved itself today. It is an amazingly efficient piece of lifesaving equipment and a delight to fly," said Lifeguard Supervisor Jai Sheridan, who piloted the drone during the rescue.

"I was able to launch it, fly it to the location, and drop the pod all in about 1 to 2 minutes," he said. "On a normal day, that would have taken our lifeguards a few minutes longer to reach."

The rescue, which happened as lifeguards from the Australian Lifeguard Service were preparing for a training session with the brand-new drone fleet, was lauded as groundbreaking.

"Never before has a drone fitted with a flotation device been used to rescue swimmers like this," Deputy State Premier John Barilaro told the BBC.

The NSW government invested $430,000 in funding to Surf Life Saving NSW for the drone project, the organization said.