FSU Students Learn to Use Drones to Assist Emergency Responders
A professor at Florida State University says the drones can survey areas hit by hurricanes much quicker than traditional search methods.
Florida emergency officials are preparing for hurricane season.
Several Florida State University students are learning how to use drones to help emergency officials in the state plan for hurricane season.
WJCT reports that Robert McDaniel, an Emergency Management professor at Florida State, showed video footage of his students piloting the drones to a room of emergency managers to educate them on how an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can assist in disaster response, especially when looking for survivors.
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In the presentation, McDaniel showed the officials how he and students used drones to help rescuers track down a missing person. “We were able to help exclude the areas that the dogs weren’t going to have to hunt – about a square mile in one afternoon,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said drones can help rescuers find victims much faster than search teams on the ground.
Other benefits of the drones include developing area surveys and mapping locations.
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