Drones as an Integral Part of Remote Sensing Technologies to Help Missing People

Abstract

Due to the versatility of the drone, it can be applied in various areas and for different uses and as a practical support for human activities. In particular, this paper focuses on the situation in Italy and how the authorities use drones for the search and rescue of missing persons, especially now that a 10-year plague that has afflicted Italy with a large number of such incidents annually. Knowledge of the current legislation, the implementation of the drone with other instruments, specific pilot training, and experiential contributions are all essential elements that can provide exceptional assistance in search and rescue operations. However, to guarantee maximum effectiveness of the rescue device, they should seriously consider including teams with proven expertise in operating drones and count on their valuable contribution. Besides drones’ capacity to search large areas, thereby reducing the use of human resources and possibly limiting intervention times, to operate in difficult terrain and/or dangerous conditions for rescue teams, remote sensing tools (such as GPR or ground penetrating radar) as well as other disciplines (such as forensic archeology and, more generally, forensic geosciences) can be implemented to carry out search and rescue missions in case of missing persons.