When disaster strikes, every minute counts. Floods are among the most destructive and deadly natural disasters, leaving countless people missing. In recent years, researchers have explored the potential of drones and artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly locate and rescue these victims. However, despite significant advances, AI-powered drones still struggle to find missing flood victims. What’s missing? The human touch.
As robotics researchers who have studied the use of drones in disasters, we’ve seen firsthand the challenges of using AI in search and rescue operations. Our experiences searching for victims of flooding and numerous other events show that current implementations of AI fall short. But that’s not to say that AI can’t play a role in searching for flood victims. The key is AI-human collaboration.
AI’s Potential
Searching for flood victims is a type of wilderness search and rescue that presents unique challenges. The good news is that AI can be a valuable tool in this process. In recent years, AI-powered drones have been successfully used to quickly determine building and road damage after hurricanes and wildfires. These successes suggest that artificial intelligence could be valuable in searching for missing persons after a flood.
Developing Computer Vision and Machine Learning Systems
Developing computer vision and machine learning systems for finding flood victims is difficult for three reasons. First, existing computer vision systems are capable of identifying people visible in aerial imagery, but the visual indicators of a flood victim are often very different from those of a lost hiker or fugitive. Flood victims are often obscured, camouflaged, entangled in debris, or submerged in water. These visual challenges increase the possibility that existing classifiers will miss victims.
Second, modern AI systems have a high error rate. If the system is programmed to overestimate the number of candidate locations in hopes of not missing any victims, it will likely produce too many false candidates. This would mean overloading search teams or, worse, the search-and-rescue teams, which would have to navigate through debris and muck to check the candidate locations.
Third, the search area is often vast and dynamic, with changing conditions such as shifting water levels, debris, and weather. This complexity makes it challenging to develop AI-powered systems that can accurately identify and locate missing flood victims.
The Power of Human-AI Collaboration
So, what’s the solution? The answer lies in AI-human collaboration. By combining the strengths of AI and human search and rescue teams, we can create a more effective and efficient system. AI can quickly analyze aerial imagery and identify potential locations of missing flood victims, while human search teams can then verify these locations and conduct a more thorough search.
This approach not only increases the chances of finding missing flood victims but also reduces the workload and stress on search teams. By leveraging the strengths of both AI and humans, we can create a more effective and efficient search and rescue operation.
Conclusion
The search for missing flood victims is a complex and challenging task that requires a combination of technology, expertise, and compassion. While AI-powered drones have the potential to be a valuable tool in this process, they are not a panacea. The key to success lies in AI-human collaboration, where AI analyzes aerial imagery and human search teams verify and conduct a thorough search. By working together, we can create a more effective and efficient search and rescue operation that saves lives and reduces suffering.
Originally published on https://www.awazthevoice.in/gadgets-news/why-drones-and-ai-can-t-quickly-find-missing-flood-victims-yet-39226.html
