“Develop an autonomous aerial system to make Search and Rescue operations – Speedier, Cheaper, and more Reliable”

Search for and rescue of people lost in the wilderness may require large crews and the use of manned aircraft for several days, which can be costly and take too long to be effective. The advent of autonomous aircraft has the potential to decrease cost and time significantly by enabling search for people over large areas. Once the person is found, the aircraft can drop water, food, and medical supplies, and pinpoint to rescuers where to find the person.

This project focuses on the development of sensing, perception, and planning methods that enable the scenario above. Planning algorithms are of particular interest as they are at the heart of a system that intelligently searches for lost people using factors such as observable signatures of humans, partial information on whereabouts, models of human behavior, and/or maps of the region.