Design of prototype for search and rescue application on UAV

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) implement technologies spanning aeronautics, robotic, electronic hardware, software, and sensing areas. Pilotless aircraft have been investigated from early in the development of flight, but recently their sophistication and capabilities have greatly expanded. The use of unmanned aerial systems for civilian search-and-rescue operations or disaster management is not new. Predators drones, commonly associated with military operations, were used in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in the United States; rotary-wing vehicles equipped with radiation sensors, infrared thermometers and cameras helped out at Japan’s post-tsunami Fukushima nuclear facility. In this project we have used a UAV for searching the lost soldiers in a remote area to know their location so that they may be rescued efficiently and effectively in time. The proposed project works on the principle of beacon transmission and reception. Target to be monitored contains a pure sinusoid beacon transmitter operating at frequency of 35MHz. At the receiving end, beacon receiver detects this sinusoidal signal and triggers the PIC microcontroller to capture GPS coordinates of the location. These GPS coordinates are sent through an SMS via GSM network to a remotely located mobile station. The project is extended to work on video front where video streaming of the target’s location is sent to the base station. This video will be sent to remotely locate base unit by utilizing GPRS network. Application for the proposed prototype system is that a lost person or group of people can easily be found by such UAVs by taking GPS coordinates and still images of the location. This can help to save a lot of time during search and rescue operations in military and civilian environments.