Article
Environmental Sciences
Tomasz Niedzielski, Miroslawa Jurecka, Bartlomiej Mizinski, Wojciech Pawul, Tomasz Motyl
Summary: Recent advances in search and rescue methods include the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to spot lost individuals. This paper presents a successful rescue case using SARUAV software, which utilizes convolutional neural networks to automatically locate people in aerial images. This technology can significantly shorten search and rescue missions.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Sung Won Cho, Hyun Ji Park, Hanseob Lee, David Hyunchul Shim, Sun-Young Kim
Summary: The number of casualties in the maritime sector is increasing, and to improve the efficiency of maritime search and rescue operations, a coverage path planning method using UAVs has been proposed. This method involves a two-phase strategy to minimize search area and completion time, yielding excellent results in real flight experiments.
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Yuanda Wang, Wenzhang Liu, Jian Liu, Changyin Sun
Summary: This paper investigates the visual navigation and control of a cooperative USV-UAV system for marine search and rescue. A deep learning-based visual detection architecture is developed to extract positional information from UAV images, improving accuracy and efficiency. A reinforcement learning-based USV control strategy is proposed, which can learn a motion control policy with enhanced disturbance rejection ability. Simulation results show stable and accurate position estimation and satisfactory control ability under wave disturbances.
Article
Remote Sensing
Yao-Hua Ho, Yu-Jung Tsai
Summary: Global warming leads to increased climate-related disasters, drones play a critical role in search and rescue operations, and an open collaborative platform allows more people to participate in search and rescue missions and reduces search time.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Di Lu, Chengke Xiong, Hexiong Zhou, Chenxin Lyu, Rui Hu, Caoyang Yu, Zheng Zeng, Lian Lian
Summary: The study introduces an improved design of a multimodal hybrid aerial underwater vehicle capable of level and vertical flight, hovering, and underwater glide. The innovation lies in the novel configuration and lightweight pneumatic buoyancy system to balance flight payload and underwater weight. The prototype, named Nezha III, demonstrates excellent performance in different modes and remarkable capability of diving to 50 meters depth.
Article
Robotics
Chenxin Lyu, Di Lu, Chengke Xiong, Rui Hu, Yufei Jin, Jianhu Wang, Zheng Zeng, Lian Lian
Summary: This research presents the design and testing of a novel hybrid aerial underwater vehicle (HAUV) called Nezha III. It features a piston-driven underwater glide strategy and combines the characteristics of an underwater glider and a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The vehicle prototype was built and field experiments were conducted to evaluate its performance. The experiment results show that Nezha III has extended underwater endurance and operational depth compared to existing HAUVs.
JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS
(2022)
Article
Social Issues
Cristina Del-Real, Antonio M. Diaz-Fernandez
Summary: The use of rescue drones is expected to increase in the future, depending on public acceptance. Studies have found moderate public acceptance of rescue drones, with influencing factors being perceived benefits and risks. Participants without lifeguard services at beaches are more likely to accept the use of rescue drones, initiating discussions on variables associated with public acceptance.
TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Ignacio Martinez-Alpiste, Gelayol Golcarenarenji, Qi Wang, Jose Maria Alcaraz-Calero
Summary: This paper presents a new system for Search and Rescue (SAR) missions using a combination of a UAV and machine-learning-based object detection system on a smartphone. The system achieved a high accuracy of 94.73% and is highly portable, cost-effective, and fast.
EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ranjan Sapkota, John Stenger, Michael Ostlie, Paulo Flores
Summary: Currently, the most common method of controlling weeds in commercial agricultural production system is by applying uniform distribution of chemical herbicide through a sprayer without considering the spatial distribution information of crops and weeds, resulting in excessive chemical herbicides being applied. This study aimed to implement site-specific weed control (SSWC) in a corn field by using unmanned aerial system (UAS) to map the spatial distribution of weeds, creating a prescription map based on the weed distribution map, and spraying the field using the prescription map. With our SSWC approach, we were able to save 26.2% of the acreage from being sprayed with herbicide compared to the current method.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Robotics
D. C. Schedl, I Kurmi, O. Bimber
Summary: Autonomous drones have shown great potential in finding hidden persons in densely occluded forests during search and rescue missions. Through field experiments, it has been proven that these drones can adaptively sample and improve classification confidence, leading to quicker and more reliable detection of individuals. This technology also enables SAR operations in remote areas with unstable network coverage, ensuring effective communication with rescue teams.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Emre Ozbek, Gorkem Yalin, Mustafa Umut Karaoglan, Selcuk Ekici, C. Ozgur Colpan, T. Hikmet Karakoc
Summary: The study focuses on developing a PEM fuel cell Li Po battery hybrid system to increase flight endurance, with the evaluation and testing based on experimental power demand data. It was found that the fuel cell could meet most of the power demand, indicating its potential for improving UAV flight capabilities.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Xinyu Cai, Shane Kyi Hla Win, Hitesh Bhardwaj, Shaohui Foong
Summary: In this study, a novel modular aerial robotic platform called ARROWs is introduced, which can be easily reconfigured with customized wing and control modules. Unlike conventional multirotor aerial vehicles, ARROWs generate more lift through revolving wings. However, the complex dynamics pose challenges in flight controller development. To address this, a cascaded flight controller is designed based on simplified flight dynamics and relaxed hovering conditions, while inertial measurement units are employed to estimate flight configuration. Experimental results validate the proposed platform and flight control strategy in 12 different configurations.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Xiaohan Lin, Ainong Li, Jinhu Bian, Zhengjian Zhang, Guangbin Lei, Limin Chen, Jianbo Qi
Summary: This study introduces a novel approach for reconstructing a realistic 3D mountain forest scene by incorporating branches into the voxel crown. The findings reveal the significant and complex impact of branches on radiative transfer simulations, which depends on the voxel size and the characteristics of the branches themselves.
GISCIENCE & REMOTE SENSING
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Mingyang Lyu, Yibo Zhao, Chao Huang, Hailong Huang
Summary: This article aims to provide readers with an understanding of the latest progress and trends in the field of UAV search and rescue by synthesizing and organizing relevant papers. It discusses the various types and components of UAVs and their importance in SAR operations. The article also reviews the integration of sensors in UAVs for SAR purposes, highlighting their roles in target perception, localization, and identification. Furthermore, it explores the applications of UAVs in SAR, including on-site monitoring and modeling, target perception and localization, and SAR operations such as task assignment, path planning, and collision avoidance. Overall, it presents a comprehensive overview of the significant role of UAVs in enhancing SAR operations and discusses potential avenues for improving their performance.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zexin Lv, Xiaolan Qiu, Yao Cheng, Songtao Shangguan, Fangfang Li, Chibiao Ding
Summary: Polarimetric Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolInSAR) has many useful applications, especially in forest areas. However, there are fewer studies on the application of PolInSAR in urban areas compared with that in forest areas. In this paper, a processing method for a Ku-band multi-rotor-UAV-borne PolInSAR is proposed, and height inversion results in an urban area are analyzed using data from the Fudan campus in Shanghai. The preliminary results show that this method has potential for height inversion of urban targets.