Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System

In 1974 the U.S. Coast Guard put into operation its first computerized search and rescue planning system CASP (Computer-Assisted Search Planning) which used a Bayesian approach implemented by a particle filter to produce probability distributions for the location of the search object. These distributions were used for planning search effort. In 2003, the Coast Guard started development of a new decision support system for managing search efforts called Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS). SAROPS has been operational since January, 2007 and is currently the only search planning tool that the Coast Guard uses for maritime searches. SAROPS represents a major advance in search planning technology. This paper reviews the technology behind the tool.