Wi-SF: Aerial Wi-Fi Sensing Function for Enhancing Search and Rescue Operation

At present, in a search and rescue (SAR) operation with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a camera-based function would be most promising. The camera-based function provides useful visual information via an aerial video, but it may be insufficient for the SAR operation due to some limitations, e.g., a missing person exists out of the shooting range. In the paper, in addition to the camera-based function, we propose to utilize an aerial Wi-Fi sensing function (Wi-SF) to enhance the effectiveness of a SAR operation. Wi-SF captures Wi-Fi beacons broadcast from Wi-Fi terminals, e.g., smartphone and handheld game console, which a missing person carries, and it displays the spots where Wi-SF captured the Wi-Fi beacons. Then, the information helps practitioners to estimate a possible area where the person exists. Experimental results showed that Wi-SF could capture Wi-Fi beacons at the altitude of 100 m in an open space, while the sensing performance at a house and in a debris area was limited to the altitude of below 30 m. Also, we demonstrated that practitioners could estimate the possible area of a missing person in a woods through the Wi-Fi sensing information in a mock SAR operation trial.