A Review on Marine Search and Rescue Operations Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Authors: S. P. Yeong, L. M. King, S. S. Dol

Abstract:

There have been rigorous research and development of unmanned aerial vehicles in the field of search and rescue (SAR) operation recently. UAVs reduce unnecessary human risks while assisting rescue efforts through aerial imagery, topographic mapping and emergency delivery. The application of UAVs in offshore and nearshore marine SAR missions is discussed in this paper. Projects that integrate UAV technology into their systems are introduced to highlight the great advantages and capabilities of UAVs. Scenarios where UAVs could provide invaluable assistance are also suggested.

Keywords: Marine SAR, nearshore, offshore, search and rescue, UAS, UAV.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1107672

References:

[1] Bloss, Richard. 2014. "Unmanned Vehicles While Becoming Smaller and Smarter Are Addressing New Applications in Medical, Agriculture, in Addition to Military and Security." Industrial Robot: An International Journal 41 (1): 82-86.
[2] De Cubber, Geert. 2013. Operational Rpas Scenarios Envisaged for Search & Rescue by the Eu Fp7 Icarus Project. Accessed Jan 5, http://www.fp7-icarus.eu/operational-rpas-scenarios-envisaged-searchrescue- eu-fp7-icarus-project.
[3] De Cubber, Geert, Daniela Doroftei, Daniel Serrano, Keshav Chintamani, Rui Sabino, and Stephane Ourevitch. 2013. "The Eu-Icarus Project: Developing Assistive Robotic Tools for Search and Rescue Operations." Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR), 2013 IEEE International Symposium on: IEEE.
[4] Fernandez, F., E. Besada, D. Sanchez, and J.A. Lopez-Orozco. 2011. "Expert Guidance System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Based on Artifical Neural Networks." Journal of Maritime Research VIII. www.jmr.unican.es/index.php/jmr/article/download/145/142.
[5] Flybox from Skybotix. 2015. Accessed January, 30, http://www.i3s.unice.fr/~ducard/ResearchMain.php.
[6] Joseph, George. 2014. "UAE Students' Drone Can Help Save People from Drowning."
[7] Kim, Sam, Cynthia Kim, and Heesu Lee. 2014. "Two Hours Turned School Island Excursion to Horror at Sea." Bloomberg Business, April 21. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-21/two-hoursturned- school-island-excursion-to-horror-at-sea.
[8] Kückelhaus, Markus. 2014. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Logistics: A Dhl Perspective on Implications and Use Cases for the Logistics Industry. Germany: DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation. http://www.dhl.com/content/dam/downloads/g0/about_us/logistics_insig hts/DHL_TrendReport_UAV.pdf.
[9] Kurowski, Martin, and Bernhard P Lampe. 2014. "Agapas: A New Approach for Search-and-Rescue-Operations at Sea." Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M: Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment 228 (2): 156-165.
[10] Leiber, Nick. 2014. "Using Drones to Make Peace, Not War." Bloomberg Businessweek (4400): 54-56.
[11] Leo, Kelion. 2013. "Iran Develops Sea Rescue Drone Prototype in Tehran." BBC, November 13. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology- 24929924.
[12] Lianne, Kolirin. 2014. "Nearly 300 Missing and Six Dead as Ferry Carrying School Children Sinks Off South Korea." Daily Express, April 16.
[13] Lin, Lanny, Michael Roscheck, Michael A Goodrich, and Bryan S Morse. 2010. "Supporting Wilderness Search and Rescue with Integrated Intelligence: Autonomy and Information at the Right Time and the Right Place" AAAI
[14] Matos, Aníbal, Eduardo Silva, Nuno Cruz, José Carlos Alves, Duarte Almeida, Miguel Pinto, Alfredo Martins, José Almeida, and Diogo Machado. 2013. "Development of an Unmanned Capsule for Large- Scale Maritime Search and Rescue."
[15] Murali, R.S.N. 2010. "Six Hurt in Oil Platform Blaze." The Star Online, December 15.
[16] Murphy, RobinR, Satoshi Tadokoro, Daniele Nardi, Adam Jacoff, Paolo Fiorini, Howie Choset, and AydanM Erkmen. 2008. "Search and Rescue Robotics." In Springer Handbook of Robotics, eds Bruno Siciliano and Oussama Khatib, 1151-1173. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
[17] NOPSEMA. 2015. Montara Wellhead Platform and West Atlas Modu Fire. Accessed February 15, http://www.nopsema.gov.au/assets/images/imagegallery/Image- A149261.jpg.
[18] RTS Ideas. 2014. Pars Drone.
[19] Ryan, Allison, and J Karl Hedrick. 2005. "A Mode-Switching Path Planner for Uav-Assisted Search and Rescue" Decision and Control, 2005 and 2005 European Control Conference. CDC-ECC'05. 44th IEEE Conference on: IEEE.
[20] South Korea Ferry Verdict: Sewol Captain Escapes Death Penalty. 2014. The Week, November 11.
[21] Stu, Robarts. 2015. Project Ryptide Drone Flies Life-Rings to Distressed Swimmers. Accessed January 6, http://www.gizmag.com/project-ryptide /35437/.
[22] University of Wollongong. 2014. "Life-Saving Drone Takes out Innovation Competition."
[23] Waharte, Sonia, and Niki Trigoni. 2010. "Supporting Search and Rescue Operations with Uavs" Emerging Security Technologies (EST), 2010 International Conference on: IEEE.