Sky Savers: Leveraging Drone Technology for Victim Localization in Avalanche Rescue via Transceiver Signal Analysis

Robin Vetsch, Robin Vetsch, Samuel Kranz, Tindaro Pittorino, Peter de Baets, Martial Châteauvieux, Christoph Würsch, Daniel Lenz, Sebastien Gros

2025

Abstract

In modern avalanche rescues, the search for buried victims is carried out primarily using a state-of-the-art handheld transceiver. However, in situations where the rescuers do not have the necessary experience, or if the victims are buried in areas that can be dangerous for the rescuers, e.g. due to the risk of secondary avalanches, this search process can be time-consuming, complex and dangerous. To overcome these challenges, we propose a proof-of-concept (PoC) of a search system based on an autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that could significantly reduce search time, even in the case of multiple overlapping signal sources attributable to multiple victims or where conventional methods are not sufficiently efficient, e.g. in the case of large-scale avalanches. Electric drones or VTOL systems cannot be used because electro-magnetic interference (EMI) blocks the signal from the sending avalanche transceiver. By replacing electromagnetically noisy DC motors with a turbine, we effectively reduce electro-magnetic interference in the signal stream and demonstrate sub-meter localization accuracy under realistic field conditions. We employ a two-stage Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) approach to estimate the stationary target coordinates. Eventually, a VTOL system also allows for operations in adverse weather and rugged alpine terrain, greatly extending the practical capability of search and rescue missions.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Vetsch R., Kranz S., Pittorino T., de Baets P., Châteauvieux M., Würsch C., Lenz D. and Gros S. (2025). Sky Savers: Leveraging Drone Technology for Victim Localization in Avalanche Rescue via Transceiver Signal Analysis. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 1: ICINCO; ISBN 978-989-758-770-2, SciTePress, pages 469-476. DOI: 10.5220/0013736400003982

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icinco25,
author={Robin Vetsch and Samuel Kranz and Tindaro Pittorino and Peter de Baets and Martial Châteauvieux and Christoph Würsch and Daniel Lenz and Sebastien Gros},
title={Sky Savers: Leveraging Drone Technology for Victim Localization in Avalanche Rescue via Transceiver Signal Analysis},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 1: ICINCO},
year={2025},
pages={469-476},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013736400003982},
isbn={978-989-758-770-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 1: ICINCO
TI - Sky Savers: Leveraging Drone Technology for Victim Localization in Avalanche Rescue via Transceiver Signal Analysis
SN - 978-989-758-770-2
AU - Vetsch R.
AU - Kranz S.
AU - Pittorino T.
AU - de Baets P.
AU - Châteauvieux M.
AU - Würsch C.
AU - Lenz D.
AU - Gros S.
PY - 2025
SP - 469
EP - 476
DO - 10.5220/0013736400003982
PB - SciTePress