From 2008 to 2009, 1676 land and marine search and rescue incidents were attended by the New Zealand Police, over $2.7 million was spent on responding, and tragically 95 fatalities occurred. (source)
New Zealand is full of mountains, thick bush and remote places where it is very easy to get lost. Furthermore, the weather can change very quickly with little or no warning.
If unprepared for bad weather, people can become cold and get hypothermia, and in extreme cases, die.
Technology has reached a point where Quadcopters are now relatively cheap and accessible to build using readily available parts. Whatsmore, cameras and thermal/infrared imaging is also powerful.
I propose the creation of one or more semi-autonomous drones which can be programmed to fly over vast areas of bush or sea using basic video, infrared or thermal imaging along with GPS data to capture signs of lost people.
Additionally, if a person is detected, the quadcopter is nimble enough to fly relatively close and release a flare to assist a rescue party in locating the person(s). Once the GPS data and images have been transmitted back the search and rescue base, a rescue team can be deployed.
Lightweight for easy transport/use
Cheap to run compared to full helicopter/aeroplane
Easily upgradeable & maintainable
Small, so can go places helicopters cant
Flying, so can cross rivers/valleys that land search couldn't easily
Infrared works at night, no need to wait for day
Research best approach and technologies
Design parts and components where possible
Print/build/fabricate frame
Write code to drive drone
Connect camera to wireless transmitting device
Control testing and refining
Real-life testing and refining
Cost: Although I am confident that the cost of building a Quadcopter is not excessively expensive - can be made for $200-300. There could be excessive costs for components to allow thermal imaging, GPS coordinates and data connection to base. These factors are current unknown due to the exact methods yet to be decided upon.
Technical: there are a number of very technical challenges with this idea.
Range - drones need to be able to go for long distances on a single battery charge and still be able to relay information back to base camp. Alternate would be to return to base and download data to computer for processing
Thermal camera - the range of a thermal camera is unknown. I suspect only very expensive ones will have the range I would require. Alternative would be to simply use a normal imaging camera.
Weather - wind and rain could make this device susceptible to crashes or failure if used in bad weather conditions.
GPS - As I have never used GPS locators of this sort, some serious research would be required to ensure the GPS data is correct. This is critical to the drone's successful assistance in a search and rescue mission.
Team: for this project to be successful, a team of motivated, knowledgable and hard working people will be required. Experience with Arduino (or similar), Quadcopters, remote control flight, programming or electronics would be necessary.
