This document discusses the use of drones for disaster response and humanitarian efforts. It outlines several projects at the Civic Drone Centre including aeroSee, which uses crowdsourced photos from drones to help with search and rescue efforts, and DroneHack, which brings groups together for rapid drone prototyping. Guidelines for humanitarian drone use were developed and launched at the World Humanitarian Summit. Future areas of focus include more autonomous drones, specialist sensors, multiple coordinating drones, and delivering supplies with drones. The document advocates for further testing and development of existing projects.

1. Drones for Disasters
SkyTech 2016
Andrew Heaton
27/01/2016

2. Introduction
• UCLan & Civic Drone Centre
• Disaster Robotics
• Current Use of Drones in Disasters
• Issues with Using Drone in Disasters
• Where Next?
• Questions

3. University of Central Lancashire
• UCLan
• Preston, Lancashire
– Burnley
– Westlakes
– Cyprus
– Partner Collages
• ~30,000 Students

4. Civic Drone Centre
• Multidisciplinary
Approach
– Collaboration
• Media Innovation Studio
• Engineering Innovation
Centre
– Other Schools
• Industry Facing
– Government, Industry
(large and small), NGOs
• CAA Training
– With The Great Circle NQE
– www.uace.uk

5. Civic Drone Centre Projects
• aeroSee
– Crowdsourced S&R
• Serious Gaming
– Rehabilitation with Drones
• Wildlife Tracking
– Smart Tags & Drone
• DroneHack
– www.dronehack.org
• Water Rescue
– Locate People at Sea
And more…

6. Disasters
• Natural
– Earthquakes
– Floods
– Volcanoes
– Fire
• Manmade
– Nuclear
– Chemical
– Fire
– Humanitarian

7. Disaster Robotics
• The use of robots &
remotely controlled
vehicles to aid in Disaster
Situations
– Includes Drones
– Monitoring the Situation
– Search & Rescue
• Dependent on the
Disaster
– What the Disaster is
– Environment
• Land, Sea, Urban, Rural,
Hot, Cold

8. Dull, Dirty & Dangerous
• Robots are Suited for DDD
Tasks
• Dull
– Long
– Monotonous
– Repetitive
• Dirty
– Nuclear
– Biological
– Chemical
• Dangerous
– Hazardous to Humans

9. What is Available & Uses
• Commercially Available
Drones
• Equipped with Cameras
– Optical
– Thermal Imaging
– Geo-Tagging • Aerial Perspective
– Scale
• Create Maps
– 2D, 3D
• Search & Rescue
– People Looking at the
Photos
– Computer Program

10. Advantages of Drones
• Can be Used:
– Before
• Mapping & Surveys of Disaster
Prone Areas
– During
• Search & Rescue, Mapping &
Survey for Situational
Awareness
– After
• Mapping & Survey,
Infrastructure Inspection
• Easy to Deploy
• Quick to Deploy
• Relatively Cheap
• Provides Up-To-Date
Information
• Publicity, Advocacy
Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd - 2015

11. Issues
• Regulations
– Different from Country to
County
• Need Training
– Use of UAVs
– S&R or Humanitarian
• Infrastructure Issues
– Power
– Communications
– Road
• Coordination of UAV Teams
– Between UAV Teams
– With Humanitarian Teams
– Government Organisations
• War Zones
• Ethics

12. UAViators
• Humanitarian UAV
Network
– www.uaviators.org
– Promote the use of
UAV is Humanitarian
Settings
• Coordinate UAV
Teams
– Nepal Earth Quakes
• Resources
• Organise Meetings

13. Guidelines for Humanitarian UAV
Missions
• Bellagio, Italy, June 2015
– International Policy Forum
– 3 Days
– UN, Red Cross, DJI,
ICT4Peace, ,Universities…
• MIT, October 2015
– Reviewed
– Send to Orgs.
• World Humanitarian
Summit 2016
– Launched
– www.worldhumanitarians
ummit.org
Draft Key Guidelines
1. Code of Conduct
2. Data Ethics
3. Community
Engagement
4. Principled
Partnerships
5. Conflict Sensitivity
http://ow.ly/WZH3j

14. Other Humanitarian/S&R Efforts
• Texas A&M, Center for Robot-Assisted Search and
Rescue
– www.crasar.org
• OCHA: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Humanitarian
Response
– http://ow.ly/WZIOH
• FSD, Drones for Humanitarian and Environmental
Purposes
– http://drones.fsd.ch/

15. Where Next?
UAViators: Humanitarian UAV Policy Forum, Bellagio

16. Delivery Drones
• Various Projects
Underway
– Amazon Prime Air
– Matternet
– DHL
– Droneports
• New Infrastructure
– Could be Effected by
Disasters
• Uses in Disasters
– Food
– Medicine
– Information

17. Technology Research Directions
• Higher Autonomy &
Automation
– UAVs
– Identifications of Humans
• More Specialist UAVs
– Incorporating Specific Sensors
– Custom Hardware & Software
• Multiple UAVs
– Cooperating
– Communicating
• Collaboration with
Humanitarian and Search &
Rescue Organisation
– What needs are
– What the technology can do
Penn State

18. aeroSee
• Crowdsourced Search &
Rescue
– Photos Take & Tagged
with GPS
– Distributed to “Virtual
Search Agents" via the
Internet
– Tag the Photo is they See
a Person
• Use with any Drone
– Which Meet Requirements
• Design of the Year 2014
• www.aerosee.org

19. aeroSee Trials
• Lake District, UK, 2013
– Staged Rescue
– Proof of Concept
– Open to the Public
– Patterdale Mountain Res
– Emigs
• Sotra, Norway, 2015
– Real Search
– Closed to S&R
Professionals
– IRIS Group
– Feedback Survey

20. aeroSee Interface
• Yes/No
• Tap/Click to
Zoom
– Lat, Long, Alt

21. Next Steps for aeroSee
• More Trials Planned this
Year
– February?
• Planning to Grow the
Community
– Virtual Search Agents
– Organisations
• Use aeroSee to Teach
Learning Algorithms
• Open aeroSee to all

22. • 1 or 2 Days Participants Design & Build a
Drone
• 2 DroneHacks in 2015
– Humanitarian Theme
– 2 More planned for 2016
• Rapid Innovation
– Not Final Products
• Bringing Different Groups Together
– S&R Professionals
– Hackers/Makers
– UAV Companies
• Provide All the Kit Needed
– Drone, Micro-Computers, Sensors, Tools
• Free to Participants
• Open-Innovation
• Win the Golden Drone Trophy
• www.dronehack.org

23. Ideas from the DroneHacks
• DroneHack – June 2015
– 1 Day, 2 Teams
– Ideas:
• Drone to carry & drop a
lifering guided by an infrared
array
• Drone to detect chemicals
when barrel bombs
• DroneHack 2.0 – September
2016
– 2 Days, 2 Teams
• Drone to pick up infrared
beacons on lifejackets
• Drone to relay messages via
screen and create a wifi-
network

24. Project SAFER
• UAV Pilot Authentication
System, Which Logs And
Communicates Flight Data –
A Digital Black Box.
• Intelligent Knowledge Based
System & Encryption
Technologies
• Ensures Currency of UAV
Pilots & Ensures Maintenance
Schedules are Adhered to
• Can Demonstrate
Commitment to Flight Safety
& Transparency in their
Operations.
• Provides Geographic
Location Data for UAVs &
Other Mission Critical Data.

25. Summary
• Commercially Available Products Can be Used
– Drones
– Cameras
– Software
– Delivery???
• There are Issues
– Many similar with the rest of the industry
• UAViators
– Resources
• Guidelines on Use of Drones for Humanitarian Use
– There are some already
– World Humanitarian Summit 2016
• More aeroSee Development
– www.aerosee.org
• More DroneHacks
– Development of some of the Ideas
• Other Projects Which Could Help
– Project SAFER
– Tank Inspection – Tomorrow at 14:30

26. Thank You for Listening
aheaton3@uclan.ac.uk
CivicDroneCentre@uclan.ac.uk
www.uclan.ac.uk
www.civicdronecentre.org
@uclan @CivicDrone @drone_hack
#dronesforgood