Drones to save lives? It is in this perspective that American researchers are developing devices capable of locating lost, injured, or missing persons. In an article published in the media The Conversation, Adeel Khalid, a professor of industrial engineering and systems at Kennesaw State University in the United States, discusses the functioning of a drone that he designed with his team.
This flying machine is equipped with infrared imaging, thermal cameras, and color cameras, coupled with artificial intelligence capable of assessing the health status of the located individuals. At the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum 2026 conference, the researchers will present the functioning of their AI.
“How drones are used to find a lost person”
“The wilderness search and rescue (WSAR) missions are critical emergency interventions that require locating a missing person within a very short time,” explain the researchers in their work published in the journal Remote Sensing. For rescuers, it involves going to difficult-to-access areas under extreme conditions. While drones equipped with cameras indeed enable more effective searches, the analysis of all collected data remains manual.
This is why Adeel Khalid and his team are working on equipping a drone with various sensors, such as infrared imaging, thermal imaging, and a color camera, but most importantly with AI capable of analyzing all this data. These modifications would increase the chances of quickly locating a person.
The goal of this drone is to “combine information from multiple viewpoints to reduce false alarms and optimize rescue team efforts.” As explained by Adeel Khalid in The Conversation, this AI model allows assessing if the person is conscious, suffering from heat stroke or hypothermia, “all vital information for a search and rescue team.”
“Battery, sound: drones still to be perfected”
During field tests, the researchers were able to put their drone into practice. The devices provided precise data on the constant temperature at the surface of volunteers’ heads. While these works are promising, scientists acknowledge that their tool is not yet optimal.
They are currently working on developing AI-based sound recognition to detect cries, reducing the size of sensors, and increasing battery life to allow for longer searches. Moreover, they are studying the possibility of flying multiple drones together to autonomously coordinate search operations.
