Search and Rescue operations will become more effective as UAV or UAS (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle/System) and ASV or USV (Autonomous/Unmanned Surface Vehicle) take part in this sector. These vehicles offer huge potential for emergency response missions, are capable of conducting tasks in challenging environments and provide support to SAR teams in hazardous, remote and hostile areas.
Robotic systems can enable rescuers to access inaccessible areas and in harsh conditions to assess the situation, complementing the role of search and rescue teams during operational activities too dangerous for humans.
UAVs and USVs may be used individually or cooperate to increase the efficiency of the intervention, allowing a faster search of casualties, initial evaluation, mapping of the area and the monitoring of large environments in real time where an accident has occurred.
The cooperation between USV and UAV is ideal for dealing with effectively problems caused by natural disasters, but it is essential that rescuers must have an advanced understanding of the technical capabilities of unmanned vehicles, in order to facilitate efficient human-robot interaction.
conditions, in harsh weather situations
Schiebel company has created the Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS), an excellent tool for military and civilian applications. It operates day and night, under adverse weather conditions, with a range out to 200 km, both on land and at sea. The VTOL ( Vertical Takeoff and Landing) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment.
The CAMCOPTER S-100′s primary mission is inspection near sensitive infrastructures and the survey of large areas such as forests, agriculture, inshore waters and urban areas.
International aviation leader Bristow is the provider of the HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter Service and it is operating the Schiebel CAMCOPTER® S-100 system from Caernarfon Airport in Wales, to fully evaluate its capabilities in a search and rescue role.
Paolo Mazzone
SubEng – HSE Adviser
Read more in the digital JP Mag – JPmag – October 2021
Images by Schiebel
