Internet of UAVs to Automate Search and Rescue Missions in Post-Disaster for Smart Cities

In natural disasters, the emergency rescue system is of utmost importance for the smart city development, but the search and rescue (SAR) leveraging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is under-explored. This study has established an Internet of UAVs architecture motivated by search and rescue activities, focusing on the path planning problem of UAV in three-dimensional urban disaster scenes. A mathematical model for UAV-based SAR missions has been built, aiming to use UAV platforms equipped with life-detection radars to search for survivors inside buildings. Our aim is to search for the most survivors in the shortest amount of time while ensuring coverage of the entire search area. Based on the mathematical model for SAR activities, the improved Multi-Verse Optimizer (IMVO) is used to solve the path of UAV. Finally, simulations were conducted in a photorealistic urban scenario, demonstrating the paths generated by the proposed method. The results indicate the potential of the generated path in terms of search time and the number of survivors discovered.