A drone capable of intervening to save lives during natural disasters was presented on June 8 at the 180e meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, report it Washington Post in an article relayed by BFM Business.
This device, developed by the German Fraunhofer FKIE institute, could quickly locate survivors by identifying their distress cries.
To set up this voice recognition system, engineers identified several sounds that could be signs of distress, such as screaming.
They then trained their drone to recognize them and then equipped the device with a network of microphones. The device would thus be able to determine with precision the origin of the noises it captures. “In just a few seconds”, assures Macarena Varela, engineer on the project.
#Drones are often associated with risks for safety and security. But whether technology is good or bad depends on the intentions of the users. An important beneficial use case and research topic @Fraunhofer_FKIE are drones for #SearchAndRescue. #WeKnowHowhttps://t.co/pY5CHils3c pic.twitter.com/abHb5O8Wef
– Fraunhofer FKIE (@Fraunhofer_FKIE) June 15, 2021
More efficient than dogs?
This innovation, still in the prototype stage, could prove to be invaluable during the emergency response. “Drones can cover a much larger area in less time than rescuers or trained dogs operating on the ground”, explains the engineer. These devices also have the ability to reach areas that are normally inaccessible.
Drones are already used by authorities, in particular to map disaster areas. Other identification approaches, by thermal imprint or by odor, are also under development.
– .
