New Delhi [India], October 27 : A team from the Indian Naval Academy has developed a pair of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed for long-range maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.
The system has two drones that work together. A quadcopter searches for a person in the water, and a hexacopter then delivers a lifebuoy to the spot. The two are linked through long-range RF communication.
Speaking exclusively to ANI, Midshipman Sudhanshu Tanwar, one of the developers of the UAVs, explained how the system works. He said the quadcopter does the searching with 2K optical and thermal cameras. An AI model called YOLO scans the live feed and flags a possible person in the water.
Once a person is flagged, the hexacopter flies out on GPS carrying the lifebuoy. Tanwar said the lifebuoy is dropped only on the command of an operator, which keeps a human in control of the final decision. After the drop, the hexacopter returns home on its own.
Both drones were built by the team. The quadcopter has a flight time of 45 minutes, a payload capacity of 0.5 kg and a maximum speed of 50 km/h. The hexacopter can fly for 25 minutes, carry a payload of 2.5 kg and reach a maximum speed of 40 km/h. Both drones have an operating radius of 10 km.
Tanwar said the aim is to give rescuers a faster way to find and reach people in distress at sea.