Marline Claessens, Nicolas Lewyckyj, Jane Biesemans, & Jurgen Everaerts. (2005). Pegasus, a UAV project for disaster management. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 233–236). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (Vito) in Belgium has initiated in 2000 the PEGASUS (Policy support for European Governments by Acquisition of information from Satellite and UAV-borne Sensors) project which envisages the development of a solar powered UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) containing several types of instruments for remote sensing and flying at an altitude of about 20 km. The aircraft can be deployed rapidly in crisis situations and provide disaster managers with ~1 m resolution images (or better if required) of the affected area. High quality data shall be received in less than half an hour from a mobile ground station that is in direct contact with the UAV, which can operate as long as requested by the user. The PEGASUS HALE-UAV is a flexible and cost-effective tool that will allow officials and local authorities to dispose quickly over relevant geographical information in an emergency situation. The first demonstration flight of the PEGASUS HALE-UAV shall take place in the summer of 2005 over Flanders.
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Dimitrios Sainidis, Dimitrios Tsiakmakis, Konstantinos Konstantoudakis, Georgios Albanis, Anastasios Dimou, & Petros Daras. (2021). Single-Handed Gesture UAV Control and Video Feed AR Visualization for First Responders. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 835–848). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming increasingly widespread in recent years, with numerous applications spanning multiple sectors. UAVs can be of particular benefit to first responders, assisting in both hazard detection and search-and-rescue operations, increasing their situational awareness without endangering human personnel; However, conventional UAV control requires both hands on a remote controller and many hours of training to control efficiently. Additionally, viewing the UAV video-feed on conventional devices (e.g. smartphones) require first responders to glance downwards to look at the screen, increasing the risk of accident. To this end, this work presents a unified system, incorporating single-hand gesture control for UAVs and an augmented reality (AR) visualization of their video feed, while also allowing for backup remote UAV control from any device and multiple-recipient video streaming. A modular architecture allows the upgrade or replacement of individual modules without affecting the whole. The presented system has been tested in the lab, and in field trials by first responders.
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Edward J. Glantz, Frank E. Ritter, Don Gilbreath, Sarah J. Stager, Alexandra Anton, & Rahul Emani. (2020). UAV Use in Disaster Management. In Amanda Hughes, Fiona McNeill, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2020 Conference Proceedings – 17th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 914–921). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) provide multiple opportunities to first responders and disaster managers, especially as they continue to improve in affordability as well as capabilities. This paper provides a brief review of how UAV capabilities have been used in disaster management, examples of current use within disaster management, as well as adoption considerations. Example disaster domains include fires, tornadoes, flooding, building and dam collapses, crowd monitoring, search and rescue, and post disaster monitoring of critical infrastructures. This review can increase awareness and issues when considering UAVs by those challenged with the management of crisis and disaster events.
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Enrique Caballero, Angel Madridano, Dimitrios Sainidis, Konstantinos Konstantoudakis, Petros Daras, & Pablo Flores. (2021). An automated UAV-assisted 2D mapping system for First Responders. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 890–902). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Recent advances in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) sector have allowed such systems to carry a range of sensors, thus increasing their versatility and adaptability to a wider range of tasks and services. Furthermore, the agility of these vehicles allows them to adapt to rapidly changing environments making them an effective tool for emergency situations. A single UAV, or a swarm working in collaboration, can be a handy and helpful tool for First Responders (FRs) during mission planning, mission monitoring, and the tracking of evolving risks. UAVs, with their on-board sensors, can, among other things, capture visual information of the disaster scene in a safe and quick manner, and generate an up-to-date map of the area. This work presents a system for UAV-assisted mapping optimized for FRs, including the generation of routes for the UAVs to follow, data collection and processing, and map generation.
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Jingxian Wang, Lida Huang, Guofeng Su, Tao Chen, Chunhui Liu, & Xiaomeng Wang. (2021). UAV and GIS Based Real-time Display System for Forest Fire. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 527–535). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: When a forest fire occurs, the commander cannot obtain information in time, and the rescue command is like groping in the dark. In order to solve the problem, this research establishes a real-time forest fire display system based on UAV and GIS. The UAV is equipped with visible light and thermal imaging cameras to transmit back forest fire scenes in real time. Based on GIS, the system can extract the boundary of the fire field through image processing and 3D modeling technology, and display various forest fire information on the screen. Through image processing and 3D modeling technology, the boundary of the fire field can be extracted and displayed on the screen. We conducted several experiments to test the accuracy and the reliability of the system. The result shows that the accuracy, reliability and real-time capability can be guaranteed in small-scale forest fires.
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Konstantinos Konstantoudakis, Georgios Albanis, Emmanouil Christakis, Nikolaos Zioulis, Anastasios Dimou, Dimitrios Zarpalas, et al. (2020). Single-Handed Gesture UAV Control for First Responders – A Usability and Performance User Study. In Amanda Hughes, Fiona McNeill, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2020 Conference Proceedings – 17th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 937–951). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have increased in popularity in recent years and are now involved in many activities, professional and otherwise. First responders, those teams and individuals who are the first to respond in crisis situations, have been using UAVs to assist them in locating victims and identifying hazards without endangering human personnel needlessly. However, professional UAV controllers tend to be heavy and cumbersome, requiring both hands to operate. First responders, on the other hand, often need to carry other important equipment and need to keep their hands free during a mission. This work considers enabling first responders to control UAVs with single-handed gestures, freeing their other hand and reducing their encumbrance. Two sets of gesture UAV controls are presented and implemented in a simulated environment, and a two-part user study is conducted: the first part assesses the comfort of each gesture and their intuitive association with basic flight control concepts; and the second evaluates two different modes of gesture control in a population of users including both genders, and first responders as well as members of the general populace. The results, consisting of both objective and subjective measurements, are discussed, hindrances and problems are identified, and directions of future work and research are mapped out.
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Kyriaki Christaki, Dimitrios Tsiakmakis, Ivanka Babic, Guillaume Inglese, Konstantinos Konstantoudakis, Gabriele Giunta, et al. (2022). Augmented Reality Points of Interest for Improved First Responder Situational Awareness. In Rob Grace, & Hossein Baharmand (Eds.), ISCRAM 2022 Conference Proceedings – 19th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 755–770). Tarbes, France.
Abstract: Situational awareness is a vital component of any disaster response mission, both in terms of first responder (FR) safety and efficiency. Points of interest (POI) can pertain to hazards known beforehand, risks discovered during the course of a mission, victims, entry and exit routes, important equipment, and more. Although communications and technical means can expand an individual FR’s situational awareness, they depend on clarity and can increase cognitive load, as this expanded volume of information must be held in each FR’s memory. Augmented reality (AR) can visualize POIs in context with the environment in a clear and intuitive way and reduce cognitive load as the don’t rely on a user’s memory. This paper presents an AR solution for FR team situational awareness, comprising four interconnected and collaborating situational awareness tools sharing a common pool of virtual POIs, alongside a range of different functionalities particular to each.
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Lennart Landsberg, Alexandra Braun, Ompe Aimé Mudimu, & Klaus-Dieter Büttgen. (2021). Considering end user needs when developing new technologies – a new plug and play sensor technology for locating trapped victims. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 922–928). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Building collapses often happen unexpectedly and suddenly. Consequently, people are often buried under the debris. What follows is a complicated search by first responders, which is characterized by time pressure and danger. In the research project SORTIE, a modular and UAV-based technical system is being developed to support the first responders in their search efforts. During the first phase of this project, an extensive requirements analysis was conducted with the involvement of end users. This ensures that the developed technology meets the requirements for later use under realistic circumstance. The project consortium has good experience with this operational approach and is in close cooperation with end users who are part of the consortium. In addition to a comprehensive understanding of building collapses and prevailing conditions, the technical partners were also able to identify requirements that they might not have discovered without the involvement of end users and the appropriate methods.
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Lizheng Deng, Hongyong Yuan, & Lida Huang. (2018). Optimal UAV 3D Path Planning in Mountainous Environments for Post-Earthquake Multi-region Search. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (p. 1122). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: During the earthquake rescue, rapidly locating the trapped person is a critical issue to reduce casualties. Compared with the ground search after the earthquake, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) life detection is not only more expeditious but also safer. For shortening the mission completion time of UAV, we propose the coupling method of Dijkstra's algorithm and simulated annealing (SA) algorithm to optimize the search path. Concisely, the mathematical model is further abstracted as the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) and the shortest loop can be obtained by SA algorithm. The real geo-environment of Jiuzhaigou and the actual large-scale rescue scenarios are taken into consideration. Setting six key search areas as our life detection objects, the UAV 3D path simulation is conducted with MATLAB, which achieves the obstacle avoidance. Our UAV path planning method can significantly speed up the search process and save more people in the post-disaster search.
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Markus Quaritsch, Robert Kuschnig, Hermann Hellwagner, & Bernard Rinner. (2011). Fast aerial image acquisition and mosaicking for emergency response operations by collaborative UAVs. In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Small-scale unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently gained a lot of interest for various applications such as surveillance, environmental monitoring and emergency response operations. These battery-powered and easy-to-steer aerial robots are equipped with cameras and can promptly acquire aerial images. In this paper we describe our system of multiple UAVs that are able to fly autonomously over an area of interest and generate an overview image of that area. Intuitive and easy user interaction is a key property of our system: The user specifies the area of interest on an electronic map. The flight routes for the UAVs are automatically computed from this specification and the generated overview is presented in a Google-Earth like user interface. We have tested and demonstrated our multi-UAV system on a large fire service drill. Our system provided a high-resolution overview image of the 5.5 ha large test site with regular updates, proved that it is easy to handle, fast to deploy, and useful for the firefighters.
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Eduard Santamaria, Florian Segor, & Igor Tchouchenkov. (2013). Rapid aerial mapping with multiple heterogeneous unmanned vehicles. In J. Geldermann and T. Müller S. Fortier F. F. T. Comes (Ed.), ISCRAM 2013 Conference Proceedings – 10th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 592–596). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: In this article, work in progress on a system for rapid aerial mapping is presented. We believe that a tool able to quickly generate an up-to-date high resolution aerial view, e.g. shortly after a natural disaster or a big incident occurs, can be a highly valuable asset to help first responders in the decision making. The presented work focuses on the path planning capabilities of the system, together with the area partitioning and workload distribution among a team of multi-rotor unmanned aircraft. Sensor footprint and range of the involved aircraft may differ. The presented approach is based on an approximate cellular decomposition of the area of interest. The results of this work will be integrated into an existing system which already provides a mobile ground control station able to supervise and control multiple sensor carriers.
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Tolt, G., Rydell, J., Tulldahl, M., Holmberg, M., Karlsson, O., & Bissmarck, F. (2023). The MAX Drone for Autonomous Indoor Exploration. In Jaziar Radianti, Ioannis Dokas, Nicolas Lalone, & Deepak Khazanchi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International ISCRAM Conference (pp. 220–230). Omaha, USA: University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Abstract: This paper presents the concept and prototype implementation of a drone for Multi-purpose Autonomous eXploration of indoor environments – MAX. The purpose of MAX is to support first responders in the difficult task of assessing unknown and potentially dangerous or hostile situations in indoor or underground environments. The approach for addressing challenges associated with this task has been to construct a custom-designed drone based on requirements and conditions of first responder missions. This paper reports on the first phase of development of the MAX drone, aimed for experimentation with autonomy functionality in first responder contexts and for enabling further development of advanced higher-level planning functions. It describes the overall design of the MAX drone, its capabilities in terms of robust positioning and autonomous mission execution, along with the status of key enabling algorithms for exploration, such as target point selection and path planning.
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