Unmanned Aerial Systems in Search and Rescue: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions

Search and Rescue (SAR) operations are critical endeavors in disaster management and public safety, often involving high-risk situations where human lives are at stake. Traditionally, these operations have heavily relied on human resources and ground-based technologies, which can be time consuming, resource-intensive, and constrained by various limitations. In recent years, the integration of drone technology into SAR operations has revolutionized the field, offering a powerful tool to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of rescue missions. This study provides an in-depth exploration of the role of drones in human search and rescue operations. It examines the various facets of this technology, including hardware, software, and operational considerations, and highlights the manifold benefits it brings to SAR missions. The most important obligation during a natural disaster is to locate and rescue any trapped individuals as soon as conceivable. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have seen a surge in usage recently due to their excellent durability, adaptability, cheap cost, and simplicity of implementation. This article includes a fresh thermal imaging dataset that was obtained by drones. The study discovers the best observers to prune and fine-tune the survivor detection network based on the sensitivity of the convolutional layer due to the restricted computational power and memory of the microprocessor.