Robbinsville – Luke Ritter, owner of Ritter Aerial Solutions, has used drones in search and rescue operations approximately five times in the mountains of western North Carolina in the past five years.
“My search and rescue team, teambursar.org, has partnered with the drone division at Oak Ridge Laboratory to further develop the use of drones in SAR specifically in this area,” said Ritter. “We have brought them in for two major searches in the Great Smoky Mountains in the past two years.”
Since the FAA first gave search and rescue operations clearance to experiment with drones in 2015, their use in SAR operations “really exploded,” said Ritter.
“Drone use has been in a steady incline within the public safety community ever since,” Ritter stated.
With major drone manufacturer DJI counting at least 144 people found by search-and-rescue drones as of January 2019 – “with more being found every month” – the relatively new technology has already proven itself essential in SAR operations.
Successful drone-assisted searches have found wandering Alzheimer’s patients, lost hikers, missing accident victims and lost children, including a six-year-old Minnesota boy and his dog, found in October by a heat-seeking drone.
“One of the great benefits of drones is how quickly we can get them into the air,” said Ritter.
The machines do have their limitations, however, which include flying in inclement weather and seeing through tree cover.
“The forest canopy here in the Smokies is an absolute killer,” said Ritter.
Since the introduction of the consumer drones in 2013, the machines have improved at a rapid pace.
“We are constantly exploring better and new ways to improve drones in search and rescue,” said Ritter.
To that end, researchers at Virginia Tech are developing algorithms and machine learning tools to better utilize drones for SAR. Such technology would enable drones to predict human behavior, including projected paths, which could help lead an operation.
Ritter does have one caveat: amateurs should resist the temptation to turn their drones loose in a SAR operation.
“A rogue Lone Ranger who wants to help and jumps in is actually hurting the situation,” Ritter said. “Even though it’s very admirable to want to help, there are proper channels to go through and they exist for a reason.”
Details can be found at teambursar.org.