search and rescue tagged posts

MIT researchers describe an autonomous system for a fleet of drones to collaboratively search under dense forest canopies using only onboard computation and wireless communication — no GPS required.
Images: Melanie Gonick

Autonomous System allows drones to cooperatively explore terrain under thick forest canopies where GPS signals are unreliable. The drones use only onboard computation and wireless communication – no GPS required.

Each autonomous quadrotor drone is equipped with laser-range finders for position estimation, localization, and path planning. As the drone flies around, it creates an individual 3D map of the terrain. Algorithms help it recognize unexplored and already-searched spots, so it knows when it’s fully mapped an area...

The vinebot is a tube of soft material that grows in one direction. Credit: L.A. Cicero/Stanford News Service

A newly developed vine-like robot can grow across long distances without moving its whole body. It could prove useful in search and rescue operations and medical applications. Imagine rescuers searching for people in the rubble of a collapsed building. Instead of digging through the debris by hand or having dogs sniff for signs of life, they bring out a small, air-tight cylinder. They place the device at the entrance of the debris and flip a switch. From one end of the cylinder, a tendril extends into the mass of stones and dirt, like a fast-climbing vine. A camera at the tip of the tendril gives rescuers a view of the otherwise unreachable places beneath the rubble.

This is just o...

Two drones work in tandem to discovered what is behind a brick wall. Credit: Image courtesy of University of California – Santa Barbara

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara Prof. Yasamin Mostofi’s lab have given the 1st demonstration of 3D imaging of objects through walls using ordinary wireless signal. The technique, which involves 2 drones working in tandem, could have a variety of applications, such as search-and-rescue, archaeological discovery and structural monitoring. “Our proposed approach has enabled unmanned aerial vehicles to image details through walls in 3D with only WiFi signals,” said Mostofi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCSB...

The SAW robot. Credit: Image courtesy of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Applications in medicine, homeland security, search and rescue. The first single actuator wave-like robot (SAW) has been developed by engineers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The 3D-printed robot can move forward or backward in a wave-like motion, moving much like a worm would in a perpendicular wave.

SAW can climb over obstacles or crawl through unstable terrain like sand, grass and gravel, reaching a top speed of 22.5 inches/s, 5X faster than similar robots. Its minimalistic mechanical design produces an advancing sine wave with a large amplitude, using only a single motor with no internal straight spine...