26 CARTOGRAPHY SCHOOL – Drones in the search for missing people
On 20-21 June 2023, Podlesice (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland) hosted the 26th annual event. Cartography School under the theme “Drones in the Search for Missing Persons,” organized by the Department of Geoinformatics and Cartography at the University of Wrocław, the Jurassic GOPR Group and the SARUAV company. The conference was held under the honorary patronage of His Magnificence Rector of the University of Wroclaw, prof. dr hab. Robert Olkiewicz
The chairman of the scientific and organizing committee was prof. Tomasz Niedzielski, and his deputy was mgr Tomasz Motyl from the Jurassic Group of the GOPR – a doctoral student of prof. Niedzielski, pursuing an implementation doctorate at our university.
The event was attended by fifty participants representing both academic units (University of Wrocław, Main School of Fire Service) and regional groups of GOPR (Jurassic, Podhale and Bieszczady), Water Volunteer Rescue Service, Fire Service, Police and the business world (including SARUAV Sp. z o.o., Dilectro Sp. z o.o., UAV Academy Sp. z o.o. and CASS – Center for Analysis and Specialized Training). The location of the conference was chosen not by accident, as Podlesice is the headquarters of the central rescue station of the Jurassic Group of Mountain Volunteer Rescue Service.
The first day included a field workshop. During them, a search was conducted for three people, one of whom was in a farm field, another on a forest path, and the last in the middle of the forest. The search was conducted by three teams using different unmanned aerial vehicles (drones): three multi-rotors and one airframe, equipped with different types of sensors: RGB cameras, thermal imaging cameras or a LiDAR laser scanner. Data analysis was conducted in the field, including using the SARUAV system, which automatically detected all poseurs. The afternoon session showcased the effectiveness of missing persons detection using specific search methods, while in the evening session, representatives from Dilectro presented the latest equipment capabilities available on the unmanned drone market.
On the second day, two refereed scientific sessions were held.
The conference was full of discussions, both during the paper sessions, field workshops and during backstage talks. The meeting in one place of representatives of academia, business and search and rescue groups enabled an effective and multifaceted exchange of views on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the search for missing persons in open areas.
The detailed program of the School can be found on the website.
