Water Rescues Thanks To Drone Mapping

“When people fall into water, we need to get them out.” Essex police use the latest technology in their work - including drone mapping.

Pix4D February 17, 2019

Every 90 seconds, a person is reported missing in the UK.

At least once a day, Essex police see a missing person case which requires further investigation. While around 80% of missing persons are found within a day, as many as 5% of cases remain unsolved.

The missing are diverse: they are elderly and children; happily and unhappily married; alone in the world and with a wide support network.

The missing are diverse, but the found often have something in common: water.

Perran Bonner, Drone Manager and Operations Lead in Essex police explains: “Many people are drawn to water. That’s irrespective of their mental health, their age, anything like that - it’s just a natural pull. Quite often people fall in and then get into difficulties - or perhaps they have deliberately fallen in. Either way, we need to go and get them out.”

Essex has one of the longest coastlines in the country. Its green fields are crossed with canals and rivers, and dotted with lakes and ponds.

“In Essex in particular there’s an awful lot of mud here,” continues Bonner. “People are regularly stuck in the mud.”  Read More

Does your UAS Program Display a Level of Commitment

This was a great excerpt from the book “First To Deploy – Unmanned Aircraft for SAR and Law Enforcement” by Gene Robinson on level of commitment. 

Assembling a good UA team requires a commitment from several different levels. Management, team members, and peers, all must commit to the continued use and development of the UA as a tool to be integrated into operations where it is appropriate. If management views the UA as a novelty, only to be brought out during photo opportunities, then it will never see its full potential as a lifesaving piece of equipment. If the UA team is not given the support by management to continue training, develop and practice scenarios in the field, and actually use the UA on a frequent basis, then they will never be fully capable of acquiring or utilizing the valuable data the UA can provide. Frankly, this level of commitment requires funds to pay the salaries of those individuals who directly support and fly the UA. Maintenance and spare parts are required to ensure the UA is 100% operational, 100% of the time. For now, we have watched as unmanned aircraft have been relegated to part-time duty with poorly trained personnel and several flights ending in a debacle. When the time comes to really utilize the unmanned aircraft, the team is neither comfortable nor capable with the unit and the missions have a low completion rate.

First to Deploy by Gene Robinson is a guide to the emerging technology of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), their capabilities, the sensors they can carry, and the data they can collect. This book is a chronicle of the development of a remotely piloted system and the migration to fully autonomous aircraft for Search & Rescue/Recovery operations in the United States. Unmanned aerial systems are reviewed from a standpoint of actual field use, not theory. Several missions are detailed by the author and demonstrate what has truly worked and the results that can be expected from a small unmanned platform.

Does your organization display a solid level of commitment?

Pick up a copy here; Purchase

Mapping Camp Fire Disaster with Drones

DJI November 2018

DJI works with 16 first response agencies for disaster response and damage assessment for California’s deadliest wild fire

The towns of Paradise and Magalia in Northern California, nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, were once thriving communities with over 27,000 residents. On November 8th, 2018, the "Camp Fire" changed all of that within hours. Thousands have been affected by this wildfire, close to 100 people lost their lives, many thousands have lost their homes.

Over two days — hovering over the burned-out grounds of the state’s most destructive fire, a legion of drones began recording images of the devastation below in efforts to help the people who lost their homes. By the time they were done, they had collected 70,000 images over 17,000 acres resulting in 1.4 trillion pixels of data.

The detailed footage and maps would help people to determine the condition of their homes — and expedite insurance claims. The footage could also help recovery crews, demolition crews, city planners, scientists and researchers, and the general public, to get a better understanding of the situation. 

The 518 coordinated flights operation, by 16 Northern California emergency responder agencies, is one of the biggest drone response to a disaster scene in the nation’s history. The 16 UAV teams were led by Alameda County Sheriff's Office. Stockton Police, Contra Cost County Sheriff's Office & Menlo Park Fire Protection District had the most team members present, with Union City Police, Hayward Police and Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office providing units as well. San Francisco Police oversaw airspace mitigation. In addition to the mapping flights, over 160 full 360-degrees and interactive panoramas were created with the help of Hangar, as well as geo-referenced video was shot along major roads in Paradise through Survae. This layered data set was processed in record time. 

The photos and videos shot by drones were all georeferenced and stitched into a map format, making it possible for residents to check the status of their homes with the interactive AI app. Authorities in Butte County publicly released the maps and aerial photography even before many residents had been cleared to enter the fire zone to check their homes. Access Butte County's Camp Fire Map.

We’re hoping that one, it will help people understand the devastation that we’re dealing with, understand the very difficult task that we have,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. “We’re hoping it’ll provide them information that will help them get their insurance claims started.”Read more

DroneSAR & the Irish Coast Guard

Learn about how the Irish Coast Guard use drones to reduce risk and save lives

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

Expedition Greenland: Jimmy Chin Takes the DJI Mavic Zoom for a Spin

Drone Below November 5, 2018

The professional mountain photographer and filmmaker who is known for working at some of the most remote places on earth, Jimmy Chin, has been recently involved in a new film. This time, Chin collaborates with DJI to explore its flagship drone, the DJI Mavic Zoom, taking it to an expedition which follows the climber Alex Honnold as he became the first person to ever solo climb the 3,000ft El Capitan Wall at the Yosemite mountains.

In his 20-year career, Chin is still inspired by the challenge of exploring new places and visiting mountains in remote places. For this Greenland trip where he films using the Mavic Zoom drone by DJI alongside a normal DSLR kit, Chin films the massive mountain grip through the 4K lens of the Mavic 2 Zoom, capturing full footage of the adventure.

The Mavic 2 Zoom: “Multi-Tool”

As he described the drone, it is a “multi-tool” that can be used for everything from high production value shots to scouting locations. For those who don’t know, the DJI Mavic 2 comes in two versions – the high-end ‘Pro’ version that has a 1-inch sensor and the less expensive and more flexible ‘Zoom’ drone which he used in Greenland.

From high-production value to “dolly zoom” scenes and tracking shots to scouting locations and routes, Chin noted that it might take hours to get up to a certain peak – but with the Mavic 2 Zoom the hours are made easier and more remote, allowing him (and the entire team) to go in search for great-looking sceneries and look out for hazards in a remote way.

Chin also points out to the fact that in such extreme conditions, gear needs to be reliable and easy to use. That is why the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom exceeds his expectations. In his own words, Chin stated:

“You need equipment that’s intuitive, and which you don’t have to spend a bunch of time figuring out how to make it work” because, as he says, “a lot of your mental bandwidth is taken up by making sure you’re being safe.”

As one can tell from seeing the videos, the aerial tracking sequences that show Deslaurier descending down the mountain slopes were among the favorite shots from the trip for Chin. Obviously, these are very difficult angles to get when you are high up in the remote areas – but for Chin – they were a challenge that he took and worked on with a great deal of passion and expertise.

“Incredible” – A Drone That Films While its Carried in the Top of (Your) Pack

Traditionally, these shots are also seen as high production value shots, and “being able to  create them with a drone that can be carried in the top of your pack is incredible,” according to Chin. Aside from praising the portability and flexibility of the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, Chin also praises the quality of the video that it can capture.

“You need a camera which offers high quality, because shooting in a location like Greenland, you know it might not be possible to ever go back. Every shot is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime shot,” he confidently said.

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.

Drone Search and Rescue Study Reveals Potential Limits

A new study on the effectiveness of drones in finding lost individuals demonstrates drones can be an excellent tool, but a drone alone is no guarantee of a successful outcome.

The study on the effectiveness of drones in search-and-rescue (SAR) operations involved a series of simulated scenarios in Ireland and Wales, with drone-equipped teams searching for simulated victims alongside ground-only teams. They found that while drones could find victims about three minutes faster, the overall success rates were similar. The study, conducted by DJI, the European Emergency Number Association, and Black Channel, was presented at a recent conference and posted online.

Drone search-and-rescue study reveals potential, limits
Do you have a story of drones coming to the rescue or assisting your agency? Please share in the comments.