Drone rescuer

2019: Announcement

In late October 2019, researchers from Australia and Iraq unveiled a drone that can distinguish living people from the dead.

Scientists have long worked on cameras that could assess the signs of life in people in distress. Using a new technique for remote monitoring of vital signs, engineers from the University of South Australia and the Middle Technical University in Baghdad have developed a computer vision system that can distinguish surviving people from those killed at a distance of 4-8 meters.

Researchers from Australia and Iraq have unveiled a drone that can distinguish living people from the dead

If the upper part of a person's body is visible, such cameras are able to detect tiny movements of the chest, indicating heartbeat and breathing. Unlike previous models, the system does not respond to changes in skin color or body temperature. The researchers claim that their system is a more accurate means of detecting signs of life, because thermal imaging cameras are able to detect signs of life only where there is a contrast between body temperature and background, which makes it difficult to register in a warm environment or with insulated clothes.

Principal investigators, Professor Javaan Chahl and Dr. Ali Al-Naji, unveiled a prototype rescue drone in 2017, when they first showed that a drone camera could measure heart rate and respiration. At that time, their technique was based on changes in the skin tone of a person, and the camera was supposed to be within three meters of the victim. In addition, the drone worked with a single position - a standing person, while in the disaster zone the victims usually lie.

The new technology can be used to find survivors in disaster zones. The system still needs additional testing in adverse weather conditions.^[1]

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