tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/search-and-rescue-9406/articlesSearch and Rescue – The Conversation2024-02-14T13:24:42Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208282024-02-14T13:24:42Z2024-02-14T13:24:42ZWe designed wormlike, limbless robots that navigate obstacle courses − they could be used for search and rescue one day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571646/original/file-20240126-17-1c52dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C0%2C4024%2C1578&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Limbless robots may not need lots of complex algorithms when they have mechanical intelligence. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tianyu Wang</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scientists have been trying to build <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakebot">snakelike, limbless robots</a> for decades. These robots could come in handy in <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/searching-survivors-mexico-earthquake-snake-robots">search-and-rescue</a> situations, where they could navigate collapsed buildings to find and assist survivors. </p>
<p>With slender, flexible bodies, limbless robots could readily move through confined and cluttered spaces such as debris fields, where walking or wheeled robots and human rescuers tend to fail.</p>
<p>However, even the most advanced limbless robots have not come close to moving with the agility and versatility of worms and snakes in difficult terrain. Even the tiny nematode worm <em><a href="http://www.wormbook.org/">Caenorhabditis elegans</a></em>, which has a relatively simple nervous systems, can navigate through difficult physical environments. </p>
<p>As part of a team of <a href="https://www.lulab.gatech.edu/">engineers</a>, <a href="https://crablab.gatech.edu/">roboticists and physicists</a>, we wanted to explore this discrepancy in performance. But instead of looking to neuroscience for an answer, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomechanics">we turned to biomechanics</a>. </p>
<p>We set out to build a robot model that drove its body using a mechanism similar to how worms and snakes power their movement. </p>
<h2>Undulators and mechanical intelligence</h2>
<p>Over thousands of years, organisms have evolved <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/nervous-system">intricate nervous systems</a> that allow them to sense their physical surroundings, process this information and execute precise body movements to navigate around obstacles. </p>
<p>In robotics, engineers design algorithms that take in information from sensors on the robot’s body – a type of robotic nervous system – and use that information to decide how to move. These algorithms and systems are usually complex. </p>
<p>Our team wanted to figure out a way to simplify these systems by highlighting mechanically controlled approaches to dealing with obstacles that don’t require sensors or computation. To do that, we turned to examples from biology.</p>
<p>Animals don’t rely solely on their neurons – brain cells and <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23123-peripheral-nervous-system-pns">peripheral nerves</a> – to control movement. They also use the physical properties of their body – for example, the elasticity of their muscles – to help them react to their environment spontaneously, before their neurons even have a chance to respond.</p>
<p>While computational systems are governed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_logic">the laws of mathematics</a>, mechanical systems are governed by physics. To achieve the same task, scientists can either design an algorithm or carefully design a physical system. </p>
<p>For example, limbless robots and animals move through the world by bending sections of their body left and right, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undulatory_locomotion">a type of movement called undulation</a>. If they collide with an obstacle, they have to turn away and go around it by bending more to one side than the other.</p>
<p>Scientists could achieve this with a robot by attaching sensors to its head or body. They could then design an algorithm that tells the robot to turn away or wind around the obstacle when it “feels” a large enough force on its head or body. </p>
<p>Alternatively, scientists could carefully select the robot’s materials and the arrangement and strength of its motors so that collisions would spontaneously produce a body shape that led to a turn. This robot would have what scientists call “mechanical intelligence.”</p>
<p>If scientists like us can understand how organisms’ bodies respond mechanically to contact with objects in their environment, we can design better robots that can deal with obstacles without having to program complex algorithms. </p>
<p>If you compare a diverse set of undulating organisms with the increasingly large zoo of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakebot">robotic “snakes</a>,” one difference between the robots and biological undulators stands out. Nearly all undulatory robots bend their bodies using a series of connected segments with motors at each joint. But that’s not how living organisms bend.</p>
<p>In contrast, all limbless organisms, from large snakes to the lowly, microscopic nematode, achieve bends not from a single rotational joint-motor system but instead through <a href="http://www.wormbook.org/chapters/www_bodywallmuscle/bodywallmuscle.html">two bands of muscles</a> on either side of the body. To an engineer, this design seems counterintuitive. Why control something with two muscles or motors when one could do the job? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing a gray worm with a window showing the inside of the worm's body, which has two bands of muscle on the left and right side, cuticle on the top and nerve cord on the bottom, top and sides." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575078/original/file-20240212-26-it6ean.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nematodes have two bands of muscle on the sides of their bodies that control motion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ralf J. Sommer and WormAtlas</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To get to the bottom of this question, our team built a new robot called MILLR, for mechanically intelligent limbless robot, inspired by the two bands of muscle on snakes and worms. MILLR has two independently controlled cables that pull each joint left and right, bilaterally.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing the design of MILLR, with servo motors on each body segment, and cables and pulleys connecting them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575079/original/file-20240212-20-gtf8t7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">MILLR’s design, inspired by nematode <em>C. elegans</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tianyu Wang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.adi2243">We found</a> this method allows the robot to spontaneously move around obstacles without having to sense its surroundings and actively change its body posture to comply to the environment.</p>
<h2>Building a mechanically intelligent robot</h2>
<p>Rather than mimicking the detailed muscular anatomy of a particular organism, MILLR applies forces to either side of the body by spooling and unspooling a cable. </p>
<p>This way, it mirrors the muscle activation methods that snakes and nematodes use, where the left and right sides take turns activating. This activation mode pulls the body toward one side or another by tightening on one side, while the other side relaxes and is pulled along passively. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="On the left, a photo showing a worm weaving between pegs. On the right, a photo showing a worm-like robot weaving between pegs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=122&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=122&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=122&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=153&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=153&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575081/original/file-20240212-26-bro51v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=153&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">MILLR’s design allows it to move through obstacles the same way worms do.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tianyu Wang and Christopher Pierce</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By changing the amount of slack in the cables, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.adi2243">we can achieve</a> varying degrees of body stiffness. When the robot collides with an obstacle, depending on the cable tension, it selectively maintains its shape or bends under the force of the obstacle. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.adi2243">We found that</a> if the robot was actively bending to one side and it experienced a force in the same direction, the body complied to the force and bent further. If, alternatively, the robot experienced a force that opposed the bend, it would remain rigid and push itself off the obstacle. </p>
<p>Because of the pattern of the tension along the body, head-on collisions that would normally cause the robot to stop moving or jam itself instead naturally led to a redirection around the obstacle. The robot could push itself forward consistently. </p>
<h2>Testing MILLR</h2>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21F7IOF9BMs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>To investigate the benefits of mechanical intelligence, we built tiny obstacle courses and sent nematode worms through them to see how well they performed. We sent MILLR through a similar course and compared the results.</p>
<p>MILLR moved through its course <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.adi2243">about as effectively as the real worms</a>. We noticed that the worms made the same type of body movements when they collided with obstacles as MILLR did.</p>
<p>The principles of mechanical intelligence could extend beyond the realm of nematodes. Future research could look at designing robots based on a host of other types of organisms for applications ranging from search and rescue to <a href="https://youtu.be/e0D9IVo-E9M?si=d8jGaC5GDLaMbEeS">exploring other planets</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220828/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Physics of Living Systems Student Research Network, NSF-Simons Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology, Army Research Office Grant, and the Dunn Family Professorship.</span></em></p>Robots often have a hard time navigating through debris, but robots designed based on worms and snakes could move around obstacles faster, thanks to an idea called mechanical intelligence.Tianyu Wang, Ph.D. Student in Robotics, Georgia Institute of TechnologyChristopher Pierce, Postdoctoral Scholar in Physics, Georgia Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2094952023-07-26T20:05:26Z2023-07-26T20:05:26ZCutting-edge new aircraft have increased NZ’s surveillance capacity – but are they enough in a changing world?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539393/original/file-20230726-15-e0zlj5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C6%2C4504%2C2996&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NZ Defence Force</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand’s national security was strengthened this month when the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s newest Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft became operational. </p>
<p>A cutting-edge maritime surveillance aircraft, the P-8A is also operated by Australia, India, Norway, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is now the New Zealand Airborne Surveillance and Response Force’s <a href="https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/nzdf/our-equipment/aircraft/boeing-p-8a-poseidon/">primary asset</a>.</p>
<p>The NZ$2.436 billion order of four P-8As allowed the retirement of six ageing turbo-prop P-3K Orions. The P-8A has an operating radius of 1,200 nautical miles (2,222kms), and its cruising speed of 470 knots (903km per hour) is 40% better than the P-3K’s. </p>
<p>With a crew of nine (pilots, flight engineers, and air warfare and ordinance specialists), it carries a suite of sensors, satellite communications, data links, and self-protection systems. </p>
<p>As well as search and rescue, the aircraft will conduct maritime surveillance and intelligence gathering, and are capable of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. </p>
<p>Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Clark describes the plane as “the modern standard in technology” for maritime surveillance. The question is, will it still be enough for the country’s future maritime security needs?</p>
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<h2>Defence and military priorities</h2>
<p>We think of New Zealand as a small country, but geographically it is a large maritime nation. Its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers 4.4 million square km of ocean, a staggering 15 times larger than the land mass. </p>
<p>Intelligence, border security and resources agencies monitor commercial shipping and recreational boating in the EEZs of New Zealand, Niue and Raratonga. They also help other South Pacific neighbours secure their own EEZs.</p>
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Read more:
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<p>Maritime conventions also make New Zealand responsible for search and rescue over an extraordinary 4.5 million square nautical miles (15.4 million square km) of the South Pacific and Southern Ocean. </p>
<p>P-8As will be able to conduct searches and drop life rafts and survival equipment – but they were ordered to meet future defence and security challenges. </p>
<p>The 2018 <a href="https://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/8958486b29/Strategic-Defence-Policy-Statement-2018.pdf">Strategic Defence Policy Statement</a> warned of military, cybersecurity, transnational crime and terrorism threats. Regional insecurity is also an issue, as rising waters and adverse weather events from global warming threaten Pacific countries. This year’s <a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/media-and-resources/release-of-mfats-2023-strategic-foreign-policy-assessment-navigating-a-shifting-world-te-whakatere-i-tetahi-ao-hurihuri/">Strategic Foreign Policy Assessment</a> warns: </p>
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<p>In the short to medium term the future looks grim. The global strategic outlook will become more complex, while the Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions will be more contested and less stable.</p>
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<h2>Best use of resources</h2>
<p>The P-8A will be in service for six or seven decades. We are already witnessing increasing need for maritime surveillance with rising geopolitical tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, as foreign investment in submarines and warships increases. </p>
<p>Australian P-8As are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/first-image-of-australian-encounter-with-chinese-spy-ship/102637528">currently monitoring</a> two Chinese “spy ships” loitering near naval exercises off Australia. </p>
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Read more:
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<p>New Zealand’s area of interest is vast, including to the south, where the <a href="https://www.ats.aq/index_e.html">Antarctic Treaty</a> system is faltering. Several states are stepping up activities on a warming continent that is strategically situated and potentially rich in mineral resources. </p>
<p>New Zealand needs to exert its claim to territorial sovereignty in the Ross Dependency, and monitor and protect the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area.</p>
<p>But the Airborne Surveillance and Response Force is potentially burdened by two past decisions. First, the government approved only four P-8As. Despite its enhanced capabilities, this is still a one-third reduction in aircraft numbers.</p>
<p>Four is a bare minimum, given how servicing or overseas deployment could leave only two locally based functioning aircraft. A future government may need to consider whether the current fleet is enough.</p>
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<p>Second, in 2001, the Labour government’s <a href="https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2017-03/maritime_patrol_review.pdf">Maritime Patrol Review</a> found it “hard to justify the retention of a comprehensive military maritime surveillance capability in New Zealand’s sea areas”. </p>
<p>The response was to pare back fighting capabilities and use the P-3K Orions as multi-agency assets. As well as search and rescue and humanitarian duties, they mainly monitored shipping, fisheries and conservation areas. This was seen as value for money for an expensive military aircraft.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539396/original/file-20230726-29-wqr7fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">One of Australia’s 12 P-8A aircraft under construction in the US in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
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<h2>Time for a maritime patrol review</h2>
<p>Military capabilities were restored after 9/11, with the old Orions deployed to the Middle East and Japan (supporting UN sanctions against North Korea). But multi-agency tasks remain a legacy requirement for the P-8A – a specialised military aircraft with highly trained crews that could be focusing on honing war fighting capabilities. </p>
<p>Given the emerging threat environment, using these expensive aircraft for routine monitoring of shipping, fisheries and conservation areas may not represent value for money in the long term.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-maritime-territory-is-15-times-its-landmass-heres-why-we-need-a-ministry-for-the-ocean-210123">New Zealand's maritime territory is 15 times its landmass – here's why we need a ministry for the ocean</a>
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<p>Other air forces don’t divert as many P-8A flying hours to non-military tasks. Australia has 12 P-8As, supplemented by <a href="https://www.airforce.gov.au/aircraft/mq-4c-triton">MQ-4C Triton</a> unmanned drones. Its Border Force agency contracts a commercial organisation, Surveillance Australia, to patrol the Australian EEZ for illegal fishing, immigration and quarantine breaches, and human, drug and arms trafficking. </p>
<p>Border Force’s <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/how-to-engage-us-subsite/Pages/maritime-surveillance-capability-project.aspx">Future Maritime Surveillance Capability Project</a> seeks to update Australian maritime surveillance to be cost-effective, while also meeting the challenges of an evolving and complex national security environment. </p>
<p>New Zealand could also benefit from a fresh review to consider whether the modest fleet of P-8As should continue to be viewed as a multi-agency asset. The 2019 <a href="https://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/03acb8c6aa/Defence-Capability-Plan-2019.pdf">Defence Capability Plan</a> signalled “an advanced air surveillance capability” that could include drones for multi-agency surveillance.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-climate-change-likely-to-sharpen-conflict-nz-balances-pacifist-traditions-with-defence-spending-118783">With climate change likely to sharpen conflict, NZ balances pacifist traditions with defence spending</a>
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<p>Monitoring the EEZ is important to combat transnational crime and fisheries poaching. In the future we may also encounter refugee boats fleeing regional conflict or environmental catastrophe. </p>
<p>But freeing up the P-8As from routine monitoring might actually be more cost-effective, using smaller aircraft, satellites and drones. Drones are cheaper to operate and can enhance flexibility with long-range and long-duration patrols. </p>
<p>This would ensure best-practice military employment of the P-8A in response to national, regional and international defence challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Moremon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The last of four new Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft has landed, substantially increasing New Zealand’s surveillance – and military – capacity. But how they are best deployed is open to debate.John Moremon, Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2084642023-06-27T06:06:16Z2023-06-27T06:06:16ZThe Titan disaster investigation has begun. An expert explains what might happen next<p>The United States Coast Guard is now <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/26/us/submersible-titanic-implosion-deaths-monday/index.html">leading the investigation</a> into the Titan submersible, looking for answers about why it imploded, and what actions should be taken next.</p>
<p>A multinational search for the Titan came to a halt on Thursday, when a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) found five pieces of debris sprawled across the seabed, some 500 metres from the Titanic shipwreck. The vessel experienced a catastrophic implosion at some point during its journey, with all five passengers presumed dead. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-was-the-catastrophic-implosion-of-the-titan-submersible-an-expert-explains-208359">What was the 'catastrophic implosion' of the Titan submersible? An expert explains</a>
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<p>For now, details elude us – and it could be days, or even weeks, before we receive meaningful updates on the investigation’s progress. Similar past events, such as the 2019 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/world/europe/russian-submarine-fire-losharik.html">fire in the Russian submarine Losharik</a>, have shown how sensitively the details of such investigations should be treated. </p>
<p>The Titan disaster happened in international waters, in a commercially operated vessel, and with victims of different nationalities. Officials will likely want to be certain about any details released – and some may not be disclosed at all.</p>
<h2>What happens next?</h2>
<p>The Titan, a research and exploration sub <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stockton-rush-manned-submersibles-science-exploration/id1515818448?i=1000493347762">owned by US company OceanGate</a>, lost contact with its surface vessel on Sunday morning, about one hour and 45 minutes after its departure.</p>
<p>Chief investigator Jason Neubauer said the US Coast Guard will receive help from Canada, France and the United Kingdom. He said authorities had already mapped the accident site, and the inquiry will aim to address several questions, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>what may have happened to cause the implosion?</li>
<li>how can safety be improved for future submersible voyages?</li>
<li>what civil or criminal charges should be laid in relation to the events, if any?</li>
</ul>
<p>Recovery operations in remote parts of the ocean are painstakingly complex, with myriad variables to consider. We can expect the Titan investigation will <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/us/titanic-submersible-search-rescue-costs.html">cost millions of dollars</a>.</p>
<h2>Harsh conditions</h2>
<p>The investigation is being carried out at depths of about 3,800m, some 600km from the nearest coastline. The same vessel that identified the initial debris – a deep-sea ROV called <a href="https://pelagic-services.com/web2/index.php/odysseus-rov-system/">Odysseus 6K</a> – is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/titan-submerisble-investigation-1.6889066">reportedly also being used</a> to look for the vessel’s remaining parts. </p>
<p>Manufacturer Pelagic Research Services <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/26/us/submersible-titanic-implosion-deaths-monday/index.html">told CNN</a> the ROV’s lifting capabilities had “been utilised and continue to be utilised”, and that missions would continue for about a week. However, we don’t know whether any debris has been recovered yet.</p>
<p>ROVs can collect vast amounts of data for deep-sea operations, including video footage and sensor readings. Ideally, an ROV will be able to reliably and quickly transmit data back to a support vessel or onshore facility, since real-time data transfer is often needed to make important decisions on the fly. </p>
<p>That said, even if Odysseus 6K delivers on this, some parts of the Titan may never be found. They may have disintegrated during the implosion, drifted too far away from the search area, or be obscured by other debris. </p>
<p>Underwater hazards, harsh weather and strong currents all add to the challenge – especially by <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37249969/">limiting visibility</a>. In the deep ocean, turbidity (haziness) and the absence of natural light means visibility is close to zero. Here, only sonar technology (which uses sound waves) may be used for navigation, mapping and locating objects of interest.</p>
<p>Any debris recovered will undoubtedly be valuable. Debris is physical evidence of the implosion, so analysing it will provide information (such as damage patterns and fractures) that can be used to infer the source of the implosion and the forces involved. </p>
<p>Experts can also conduct chemical analyses of the residue on the wreckage. However, this is affected by seawater, so a prompt recovery will be important.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-expert-explains-what-safety-features-a-submersible-should-have-208187">An expert explains what safety features a submersible should have</a>
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<p>The Titan’s remote location means investigators won’t have the luxury of having the quick support offered by coastal rescue stations that can rapidly deploy search and rescue assets and diving teams. </p>
<p>They’ll have to rely on specialised resources, such as large vessels and aircraft with extended range capabilities. Aircraft can provide an elevated platform for visual observation and aerial mapping, as well as remote sensing technologies including radar systems and thermal imaging sensors. </p>
<h2>Finding the remains</h2>
<p>Chief investigator Neubauer has said <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/66015811">searching for victims’</a> remains is on the agenda. But the chances of actually finding them will depend on various factors, including the cause of the implosion, the depth at which it happened, and the surrounding conditions. </p>
<p>A severe implosion may have resulted in extensive fragmentation and scattering of both the submersible’s structure and human remains. Remains can be swept away in currents, or tampered with by marine life.</p>
<p>They also behave differently depending on whether they’re recovered from <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/a65eb1a2d459fb92ea04605ef098497a/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=47323">non-sequestered environments</a> (exposed in the water) or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23232544/">sequestered environments</a> (enclosed in a vessel). In the former scenario, bodies are often <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15166773/">consumed by animals</a> and decomposition causes <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Disappearance-of-soft-tissue-and-the-of-human-from-Haglund/5f5ec4ccf2ebabce7b9bd3106df77a4f78ecf1db">disarticulation</a>, wherein the bones gradually separate at the joints. However, garments can sometimes help to <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/569067-doctor-explains-why-21-human-feet-in-sneakers-may-have-washed-on/">keep things together</a>.</p>
<p>The effort to locate remains may involve observation from long-range aircraft and patrol vessels, or may even rely on radar, sonar or satellite imagery. If remains are located deep underwater, recovering them may involve using a specialised hoisting system designed to handle the challenges of a deep-sea environment.</p>
<h2>Sharing responsibility</h2>
<p>The Titan investigation will involve coordination between multiple entities, including maritime authorities, coast guard services and search and rescue organisations. </p>
<p>It will be subject to international agreements such as the <a href="https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/International-Convention-on-Maritime-Search-and-Rescue-(SAR).aspx">International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue</a>, as well as international law such as
the <a href="https://onboard.sosmediterranee.org/knowledge-base/article-98-duty-to-render-assistance/#">duty to render assistance</a>, which is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This requires that all vessels, regardless of their flag, have a legal obligation to render assistance to any person in distress at sea.</p>
<p>For now, we can only speculate on what the Titan investigation might produce. All we can do is wait, and hope that whatever answers do emerge will be put to good use to make sure something like this never happens again. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-extreme-frontier-travel-booming-despite-the-risks-208201">Why is extreme 'frontier travel' booming despite the risks?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paola A. Magni does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Titan disaster happened in international waters, in a commercially operated vessel, and with victims of different nationalities. Any details that emerge will likely be treated with sensitivity.Paola A. Magni, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2081632023-06-21T22:51:54Z2023-06-21T22:51:54ZTitanic submersible ‘catastrophic implosion’: questions remain about the costs and ethics of rescuing tourist expeditions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533315/original/file-20230621-23-8fpk5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C244%2C5607%2C3786&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The vessel Polar Prince towing OceanGate Expeditions submersible vessels from St. John's, N.L., as it leaves to tour the Titanic wreck site on May 29, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/21/titanic-sub-timeline-titan-submersible-missing-vessel">that debris found on the seafloor</a> was identified as belonging to the Titan, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-missing-titanic-tourist-sub-explained/">the OceanGate submersible that had disappeared on June 18</a>. Teams from different countries — including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany — were conducting search missions under a very tight timeline. </p>
<p>The discovery, close to the site of the Titanic, indicates the end of search-and-rescue operations for the five people onboard, who were killed in a ‘<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/22/us/submersible-titanic-oceangate-search-thursday/index.html">catastrophic implosion</a>,’ according to the Coast Guard.</p>
<p>As one of the largest international marine search-and-rescue operations, the incident raised questions about risk management, search-and-rescue operations, costs and ethical aspects of responses.</p>
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<h2>Ocean incidents</h2>
<p>A significant number of economic activities — including shipping, fishing and offshore oil and gas drilling — are conducted in marine environments. These activities can lead to occurrences of accidents and casualties of different types. </p>
<p>Annually, a large number of incidents happen in the Canadian marine environment. Between 2011 and 2020, <a href="https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/stats/marine/2021/ssem-ssmo-2021.html">284 occurrences were reported each year</a> that had an annual average of 15.6 fatalities during the same period. </p>
<p>These numbers suggest that relative to the huge number of marine activities and the number of incidents, conventional marine-based operations are relatively safe and the emergency responses to them are effective. </p>
<h2>An unusual situation</h2>
<p>The search-and-rescue operations <a href="https://oceangate.com/our-subs/titan-submersible.html">for the Titan</a> have been proven to be unusual, as measured by the complexity, costs, time sensitivity and scale. Unlike search-and-rescue operations on the ground that can be undertaken by volunteers and with little or no equipment, marine search and rescue is a <a href="https://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/publications/search-rescue-recherche-sauvetage/sar-canada-res-eng.html">highly specialized operation</a>. </p>
<p>It requires high-tech equipment, tools, training, co-ordination and capacity. In the current case, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/missing-titanic-submersible-live-updates-rcna90315">the search area was not measured in square kilometres or miles</a> — rather, it was in cubic measurements (3D), because the vessel could have been anywhere around the surface, in shallow or deep waters, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/20/us/titanic-missing-submarine">or on the ocean floor</a>.</p>
<p>While there are capable teams with the needed equipment and training for most marine disasters, they are not sufficient to cover a large area with limited information or uncertainty about the situation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctup4lQs5SP","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Operational outcomes</h2>
<p>This search operation was among the costliest in recent history. We need to wait to see how much of this cost will be covered by insurance, OceanGate or the public. </p>
<p>This event will generate significant discussions around the public burden of private risks and risk-taking behaviours, and how risks in certain areas are regulated. And it could count for about one-third of Canada’s annual average marine fatalities if it’s considered a Canadian incident.</p>
<p>Particularly, it will bring to the forefront questions about <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/extreme-travel-rescue-operations-are-expensive-and-who-pays-is-unclear/">balancing acceptable risks with available emergency response capacities</a>, including search-and-rescue. </p>
<h2>Risk assessments</h2>
<p>When embarking on risky operations, such as deep-sea touristic exploration, two elements need to be added to risk assessments: 1) Do we have adequate and timely internal and external capacity to handle a potential incident?; and 2) What are the total response costs of an incident? </p>
<p>While certain risky activities or operations may be acceptable based on a private assessment of risk, they may not be acceptable if we ponder these two aspects.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A small submersible is seen underwater." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533316/original/file-20230621-27-kan0vv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">OceanGate’s Titan submersible dives underwater.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(OceanGate Expeditions via AP)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, many conventional risk assessments, particularly in the private sector organizations, do not pay sufficient attention to available emergency response capacities. </p>
<p>When considering <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/business/titan-submersible-here-s-a-timeline-of-how-rescue-mission-is-unfolding-in-the-atlantic-ocean-news-296702">the Titan’s search-and-rescue operation</a>, it became clear this small emergency surpassed the capacity of the resources that were operating in the area.</p>
<p>Teams from other places and countries joined the effort, but it took several days for a unified command centre for search-and-rescue to take shape.</p>
<p>Conducting a survey of available emergency response capacities to risk assessments can make a significant difference in risk management and regulation.</p>
<p>Similarly, many current risk assessments do not fully include emergency response costs in their calculations. While it is not a major consideration for many regular daily activities and operations because the emergency response is within regular possibilities, certain operations — particularly on remote marine environments — ought to add these costs into their risk assessment. </p>
<p>In doing so, risks may become more or less acceptable in terms of mitigation policies and regulations. Incorporating these aspects into risk assessments and regulations could help ensure that private operators provide additional safety and risk mitigation measures and assume responsibility for incurred costs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ali Asgary does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A team of rescuers has located debris from the Titan, indicating the end of search-and-rescue efforts. Risky undertakings need to assess the cost and capacity of any potential rescue needs.Ali Asgary, Professor, Disaster & Emergency Management, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies & Director, CIFAL York, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1913152023-04-26T12:29:17Z2023-04-26T12:29:17ZArctic sea ice loss and fierce storms leave Kivalina’s volunteer Search and Rescue fighting to protect their island from climate disasters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520352/original/file-20230411-24-kd0zun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C3000%2C1944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kivalina sits on a narrow barrier island on the Chukchi Sea.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-from-a-drone-shows-the-village-of-kivalina-news-photo/1175058955?adppopup=true">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As winds and waves from Typhoon Merbok <a href="https://www.ktoo.org/2022/09/17/powerful-storm-slams-western-alaska/">devastated communities</a> along the coast of Western Alaska in 2022, Reppi Swan Sr.’s phone began to ring at Kivalina, a barrier island 80 miles above the Arctic Circle.</p>
<p>A neighboring family had lost 3 feet of land to the rumbling lagoon, and their home was now sitting just 6 feet from the angry water’s edge. Reppi called his brother Joe Swan Jr. and quickly slid into his insulated rain gear.</p>
<p>As a volunteer first responder, Reppi plans for emergencies like this. He and his wife, Dolly, had been patrolling the island for dangerous erosion every few hours during the storm. To prepare, he had already inspected the city’s heavy equipment and located a pile of boulders left over from a recent construction project.</p>
<p>Working through the rain, Reppi delivered boulders to the threatened home. With their cousin Carl Swan serving as a spotter, Joe carefully arranged the boulders with a backhoe to stabilize the bank. It would hold at least until the storm subsided.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2632/kiva3.gif?1681231737" width="100%" height="100%"> </p><figure><figcaption><span class="caption">Joe Swan Jr. and Carl Swan rush to arrange boulders to protect a home from erosion during Typhoon Merbok. The corner of the home is visible on the right. Video by Janet Mitchell</span></figcaption></figure> <p></p>
<p>With <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0024">protective sea ice declining</a> and warming Pacific waters supercharging <a href="https://theconversation.com/typhoon-merbok-fueled-by-unusually-warm-pacific-ocean-pounded-alaskas-vulnerable-coastal-communities-at-a-critical-time-190898">fall storms</a> in the Bering and Chukchi seas, Alaska Native villages like Kivalina are experiencing growing risks to coastal livelihoods and critical infrastructure, including runways. Reppi’s efforts reflect the challenges many front-line communities face as they struggle with the effects of climate change.</p>
<h2>Dealing with disasters has become normal</h2>
<p>Indigenous governments, nonprofits, hunters and first responders from Iñupiaq, Yupik and Unangan communities across Alaska have long been preparing for today’s climate hazards. They have created initiatives from <a href="http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/2234inupiaq_researcher_documents_how_climate">coastal monitoring</a> to relocation planning, yet <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-09-551.pdf">state and federal support programs</a> are <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-09-551.pdf">underfunded</a> and <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2022/05/30/rural-alaska-villages-hope-to-eliminate-barriers-to-federal-funding-for-addressing-climate-change-threats/">poorly structured</a> for the scale of today’s challenges.</p>
<p>Kivalina, an Iñupiaq community of 500 people, has been dealing with climate-fueled erosion and flooding for decades. Nearly 20 years ago, it was one of four villages the U.S. government determined to be facing “<a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-04-142.pdf">imminent danger</a>.” In 2009, <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-09-551">27 additional villages</a> were added to the list.</p>
<p>Over the years, Reppi, Joe and scores of other volunteers in Kivalina have improvised sea walls with everything from sandbags to sheets of metal cut from the chassis of an abandoned fuel plane. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A profile image of Reppi swan, wearing a cap and camoflauge jacket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519887/original/file-20230406-28-vzkh68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For Reppi Swan Sr., president of Kivalina’s Volunteer Search and Rescue, responding to disasters has become a normal part of everyday life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kirk Koenig</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a field officer during such incidents, Reppi reflects on how difficult it is to send anyone into harm’s way, whether to search for a lost hunter or to save homes and infrastructure. He remembers one storm in which he put a lifeline on his volunteers as they tried to bolster the shoreline. “That was the hardest thing I had to do,” Reppi recalls, “because one of my guys had to stay down there and tie each super sack together. To top that off, the 8-foot to 10-foot waves would just engulf them completely.”</p>
<p>He talks about Typhoon Merbok with the calm of someone for whom storm readiness and response have become normal parts of everyday life. Because they have.</p>
<h2>‘We just can’t adapt this fast’</h2>
<p>For Indigenous nations around the world, the roots of climate risk today are often <a href="https://centerclimatejustice.universityofcalifornia.edu/posts/indigenous-peoples-and-climate-justice-by-kyle-powys-whyte/">colonial in origin</a>. Kivalina’s “<a href="http://www.alaskool.org/native_ed/historicdocs/kivalina/ki900012.htm">uneasiness</a>” with fall storms began shortly after 1905, when the U.S. Office of Education built a school on the island, and began a multidecade process to forcibly settle the autonomous and seminomadic <a href="https://upcolorado.com/university-of-alaska-press/item/5846-the-inupiaq-eskimo-nations-of-northwest-alaska">Kivalliñiġmiut nation</a>.</p>
<p>In 1981, after decades of deliberation, Kivalina’s municipal government initiated relocation planning as a means to gain running water and sewer services and to alleviate overcrowding. It was an attempt, as the elder Joe Swan Sr. puts it, to gain “breathing room” so that future generations might flourish. However, planning stalled in 2008 because of a disagreement between traditional knowledge holders in Kivalina and the <a href="https://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Portals/34/docs/civilworks/reports/KivalinaMasterPlanMainReportJune2006.pdf">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers</a> over the suitability of the community’s chosen site.</p>
<p>Kivalina’s relocation has now come to be framed as a response to climate change, but the initial needs that drove relocation planning still remain.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman wearing a fleece jacket and sunglasses sits in a doorway with her arms crossed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520351/original/file-20230411-16-phj7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Colleen Swan has been involved in disaster response for decades and has seen an increase in the damage to her island home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/city-administrator-colleen-swan-relaxes-at-the-end-of-a-day-news-photo/1175057581">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“We’re an adaptable people,” Colleen Swan, Kivalina’s city administrator, told me when I started my doctoral studies 12 years ago, “but since 2004, we just can’t adapt this fast.” </p>
<p>That was the year pieces of the island began shearing off into the sea.</p>
<h2>The local value of the Arctic’s diminishing sea ice</h2>
<p>Historically, Kivalina’s sea ice would form early enough to protect the coast from fall storms. But with climate change, it forms much later, if at all, leaving the shoreline <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0024">vulnerable to increased wave activity</a>. </p>
<p>On March 6, 2023, when Arctic sea ice hit its maximum extent for the year, it was the <a href="https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2023/03/arctic-sea-ice-maximum-at-fifth-lowest-on-satellite-record/">fifth-lowest maximum extent on the satellite record</a>. Kivalina had open water less then 2 miles (3.2 km) out from town, a fraction of what’s needed for a successful bowhead whale hunt.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A snow and ice covered ocean with the edge of the island and its homes on one side. It looks cold out." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520329/original/file-20230411-16-5l672a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">During winter, sea ice protects the island from erosion, but Arctic ice is diminishing. This photo was taken in February 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Replogle Swan Sr.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><iframe id="NuxVz" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NuxVz/9/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>In 2008, Colleen was among local leaders who initiated the landmark climate justice lawsuit <a href="http://climatecasechart.com/case/native-village-of-kivalina-v-exxonmobil-corp/">Kivalina v. ExxonMobil</a>. The community sought up to US$400 million in restitution from the 24 largest greenhouse gas emitters in the U.S., companies whose profits are driving climate change. That would have been enough <a href="https://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Portals/34/docs/civilworks/reports/KivalinaMasterPlanMainReportJune2006.pdf">to cover the costs</a> of comprehensive village relocation. </p>
<p>The case was <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-ca9-09-17490/context">dismissed by a federal court</a>, a decision upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2012. On May 20, 2013, the Supreme Court <a href="http://climatecasechart.com/case/native-village-of-kivalina-v-exxonmobil-corp/">refused to consider</a> any further appeal.</p>
<p>With the media attention generated by the lawsuit, Colleen has become globally recognized as a front-line leader for climate justice. She has <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/person/colleen-swan/">spoken across the U.S.</a> and was part of an <a href="https://www.ienearth.org/">Indigenous delegation</a> to the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen in 2009. Today, she’s busy addressing climate change on a different scale.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An aerial view of Kivalina shows the boulders surrounding parts of the narrow island." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520350/original/file-20230411-797-9exvac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Army Corps of Engineers built a rock revetment in 2008-2009 to help buffer Kivalina’s shore, but it does not surround the entire island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-from-a-drone-shows-kivalina-which-is-at-the-news-photo/1175057966">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Colleen now manages Kivalina’s Volunteer Search and Rescue, known as SAR, and her brother Reppi serves as its president. Kivalina SAR is an association of hunters and first responders that plays a crucial role in community safety, coastal resilience and hunter support. But climate change has changed the nature of the organization.</p>
<p>“In the past, search and rescue looked for people who were lost or late returning from a hunt.” But with late freeze-up, thin ice and melting permafrost, she explains, “We’re spending more time helping people because of changes to environmental conditions.” Through fundraising, capacity building, and <a href="https://www.kvlseaice.org/">strategic partnerships</a>, Colleen is building up SAR to respond to new hazards as it faces a rapidly changing environment.</p>
<h2>Infrastructure investments remain unfinished</h2>
<p>From 2008 to 2009, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed 1,600 feet of a planned 2,000-foot <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-09-551.pdf">rock revetment wall</a> to help protect the island. These partial protections, built when funds were available, have been effective, but they leave critical infrastructure and lagoonside homes exposed – as Typhoon Merbok made clear. As Reppi tells me, “We’re always going to have erosion.”</p>
<p>When erosion from fall storms threatened the airport runway in 2019, city leaders made the difficult decision to redeploy boulders from the existing rock revetment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An aerial photo of the coast showing a rock border on the coast ending and erosion clearly evident beyond it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519888/original/file-20230406-26-39xzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where the rock revetment ends, homes and infrastructure face a high risk of erosion during storms. During Typhoon Merbok, volunteers gathered a new pile of boulders to try to protect homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janet Mitchell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Without comprehensive planning and funding, key segments of the community remain at risk. Kivalina’s first responders must remain vigilant.</p>
<p>After 10 years of lobbying state and federal agencies, Kivalina’s tribal and city councils secured an 8-mile evacuation road to Kisimiġiuqtuq Hill that opened in November 2020. With the state of Alaska <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/state-settles-historic-lawsuit-over-village-school-funding/2011/10/05/">compelled by a lawsuit</a> to remedy its systemic underfunding of Alaska Native schools, the Northwest Arctic Borough School District joined the project, opening a new school at Kisimiġiuqtuq Hill in <a href="http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/2246the_new_kivalina_school_opened_its_doors_to">November 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Yet these achievements have also brought new concerns, and Reppi and Colleen are preparing their volunteers to respond to other types of problems, such as road accidents or stranded vehicles.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two men look at erosion that has exposed several feet of pipe. Rocks help protect part of the property." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519893/original/file-20230406-22-iuxkz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reppi Swan Sr. and Joe Swan Jr. inspect an eroded property they shored up during a storm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janet Mitchell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since Kivalina’s Search and Rescue purchased its first truck in the summer of 2021, Reppi has made regular patrols to study every bend of the poorly lit and steeply pitched road – often through blowing snow. When Kivalina’s children began riding a school bus for the first time, he followed close behind – up and back, three times a day – just in case.</p>
<p>At times this winter, Kivalina’s school bus has been without a certified driver, or sidelined with mechanical issues. When the transportation burden falls on individual families, those without a vehicle, or unable to afford the <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/429b4ff23f2648e0b46f38c8aeff09d2">high cost of fuel</a>, are missing school outright. Lacking adequate snow removal equipment, heavy snow and high winds kept Kivalina’s school closed the entire month of March. </p>
<h2>Community efforts fill critical adaptation gap</h2>
<p>While Kivalina, like many other Indigenous communities, has been clear about its climate adaptation priorities, support from federal and international institutions has been limited. </p>
<p>The Biden administration recently made <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-makes-135-million-commitment-support-relocation-tribal">$115 million available</a> to help 11 Indigenous communities with relocation, but the Army Corps estimated Kivalina alone would <a href="https://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Portals/34/docs/civilworks/reports/KivalinaMasterPlanMainReportJune2006.pdf">need $250 million to $400 million</a>. Kivalina wasn’t on the list.</p>
<p>Indigenous coastal communities bear a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-and-health-indigenous-populations">disproportionate amount of risk</a> from climate change, and the costs of adaptation often go uncompensated. Without comprehensive investment in local priorities – from planning and infrastructure to capacity-building – organizations like Kivalina’s Search and Rescue will continue to fill a critical gap, performing the invisible labor of climate adaptation.</p>
<p><em>This article, originally published April 26, 2023, has been updated with the date the Supreme Court declined Kivalina’s appeal, one decade ago.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>P. Joshua Griffin co-directs "Polar Science at a Human Scale" with Reppi Swan Sr. and Colleen Swan. Since 2020, their work has received funding from the University of Washington EarthLab, the UW Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, and the UW Program on Climate Change.</span></em></p>In the years since the Supreme Court rejected Kivalina’s appeal on May 20, 2013, the community’s search and rescue team has faced increasing climate disasters: ‘We just can’t adapt this fast.’P. Joshua Griffin, Assistant Professor of Marine and Environmental Affairs and American Indian Studies, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1936092022-11-07T21:58:53Z2022-11-07T21:58:53ZHow to prevent missing person incidents for seniors living with dementia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493928/original/file-20221107-3609-4js0ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=87%2C150%2C5207%2C3342&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Missing person calls involving an individual with dementia increased by between 10 and 50 per cent across all Ontario regions over the last five years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>People living with dementia are at risk of getting lost, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5572764">go missing every day in Canada</a>. For example, in July, a person living with dementia went missing and was found by the police <a href="https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2022/07/23/man-71-with-early-onset-dementia-missing-in-east-hamilton-police.html">under a highway bridge more than 24 hours after he was last seen</a>. </p>
<p>But for some people, the outcome might be different. They might <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ioan-john-pop-missing-senior-found-dead-1.5337124">never return home</a>, or in some cases <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/dementia-and-wandering-finding-a-way-forward">never be found</a>. </p>
<p>This is a growing problem. Today, <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia">over 55 million people live with dementia worldwide</a>, and this number is projected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00249-8">triple by 2050</a>. Recent research reported that the prevalence of missing person calls involving an individual with dementia has increased <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5572764">by between 10 and 50 per cent across all Ontario regions over the last five years</a>. </p>
<p>The risk of getting lost differs among people living with dementia based on their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fgeroni%2Figab046.2432">individual risk factors</a>. For example, some individuals may have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fbrain%2Fawv276">reduced processing of pain and thermoregulation</a>, which means they don’t feel the cold or heat. That <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.924091">increases the likelihood of adverse outcomes when the person goes missing</a>.</p>
<h2>Prevention strategies</h2>
<p>Prevention is fundamental and <a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/rspndng-mrgnc-vnts/nss/prev-prev-en.aspx">has the potential to save lives and decrease the risk of injuries</a> for persons living with dementia. For example, Alzheimer Scotland developed <a href="https://www.alzscot.org/purplealert">a missing person app called Purple Alert to support the safety and well-being of people living with dementia</a>. If someone with dementia goes missing in the area, the app sends an alert to community citizens who have opted in.</p>
<p>In Canada, data on missing older adults living with dementia are sparse, and information on reported incidents typically comes from news and media reports. Japan is the only country we know of that keeps annual statistics regarding the number of cases of missing adults with dementia. In 2021, <a href="https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2022062300331/">17,636 persons living with dementia went missing in Japan</a>.</p>
<p>It is clear that as a country, Canada needs better approaches to manage and prevent missing incidents involving people living with dementia. For example, prevention strategies could include: </p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://alzheimer.ca/sites/default/files/documents/First-Responder-Handbook-Alzheimer-Society.pdf">Specialized training of first responders</a> to identify and intervene when they see a missing person with dementia. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/stages-behaviors/wandering">Prevention measures at home</a> and in the community. This may include providing safe common areas at home such as a fenced patio, labelling doors to provide a reminder of what each room is for, having a recent photo of the individual, and becoming familiar with the neighbourhood, including likely places a person might wander to and any hazards such as ponds and busy roads.</p></li>
<li><p>Technology to support persons living with dementia and their caregivers. For example, <a href="http://canadiansafewandering.ca/">tools to assess individual risk for going missing and getting lost</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Sharing data</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A multi-ethnic group of senior adults are walking together on a trail through the park." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493197/original/file-20221103-13-32d08n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The risk of getting lost differs among people living with dementia based on their individual risk factors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(FatCamera/istockphoto)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, Canada needs a national strategy for collecting data on incidents of missing people living with dementia. This could optimize time and resources spent on police and search and rescue efforts, and enhance the chances of saving the lives of those who go missing. </p>
<p>The integration of multiple data sources such as health care, social programs, police and other first responders, and volunteer search and rescue organizations is key to sustain preventive efforts and proactively identify risk in the community. Currently, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704221106156">databases on missing incidents involving people living with dementia are managed in silos</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Waterloo are leading an <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2022/06/government-of-canada-announces-21-million-to-enhance-search-and-rescue-capabilities-for-people-living-with-dementia.html">initiative to enhance search and rescue capabilities for people living with dementia</a>. This project includes <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/managing-risks-of-disappearance-in-persons-living-with-dementia/">engagement with multiple partners across Canada</a>, such as <a href="https://youtu.be/XWK5_LMTPbo">police and community organizations, search and rescue, and people living with dementia</a>. The project includes collaboration with <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/managing-risks-of-disappearance-in-persons-living-with-dementia/blog/dementia-friendly-first-responder-resource-meeting">First Nations communities</a> and first responders, such as firefighters, paramedics and peacekeepers, embedded in these communities.</p>
<p>The need for these resources is growing. By 2050, <a href="https://alzheimer.ca/en/research/reports-dementia/landmark-study-report-1-path-forward">more than 1.7 million Canadians are expected to be living with dementia, with an average of 685 individuals being diagnosed each day</a>. With an increasing number of people living with dementia worldwide and in Canada, it’s crucial to find ways to promote community awareness and prevent people with dementia from getting lost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193609/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hector Perez has received funding from AGE-WELL NCE and currently receives funding from the Games Institute at the University of Waterloo.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lili Liu receives funding from Public Safety Canada, AGE-WELL NCE, and University of Waterloo Games Institute.</span></em></p>With an increasing number of people living with dementia worldwide and in Canada, it’s crucial to find ways to promote community awareness and prevent people with dementia from getting lost.Hector Perez, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of WaterlooLili Liu, Professor, School of Public Health Sciences and Dean, Faculty of Health, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822252022-05-13T12:14:38Z2022-05-13T12:14:38ZA court case against migrant activists in Italy offers a reminder – not all refugees are welcome in Europe<p>As many European countries <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/05/05/1095466197/whats-a-good-word-for-the-welcome-given-to-ukrainian-refugees-in-europe-generous">welcome Ukrainians</a> fleeing war, recent charges against a migrant advocate in Rome offer a reminder that popular <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/anti-immigrant-attitudes-rise-worldwide-poll/a-55024481">anti-migration sentiments</a> persist across Europe.</p>
<p>Andrea Costa, the president of Rome-based migration nonprofit <a href="https://baobabexperience.org/">Baobab Experience</a>, was <a href="https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/40301/baobab-chief-risked-18-years-for-helping-migrants-acquitted">recently acquitted</a> on charges of facilitating <a href="https://www.criminaljusticenetwork.eu/it/post/usi-ed-abusi-delle-disposizioni-contro-il-favoreggiamento-dellimmigrazione-clandestina-in-italia">illegal migration</a> – a form of <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/migration-and-asylum/irregular-migration-and-return/migrant-smuggling_en">migrant smuggling</a>. </p>
<p>Costa and two volunteers with Baobab Experience faced up to 18 years in prison after they purchased bus tickets for African migrants trying to travel from Rome to Genoa in 2016. </p>
<p>An Italian judge dropped charges against <a href="https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/40301/baobab-chief-risked-18-years-for-helping-migrants-acquitted">Costa and his co-workers</a> on May 9, 2022, because the <a href="https://www.ansa.it/english/newswire/english_service/2022/05/03/rome-migrant-centre-head-cleared-of-illegal-immigration-5_a0400d10-c872-400c-97d0-a60957380e00.html">“crime was nonexistent</a>.” </p>
<p>Migrant activists are celebrating the recent court decision as a victory for groups like Baobab that offer help to people in transit trying to find safety in Europe. But <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=83Lb0dwAAAAJ&hl=en">as a scholar</a> of Mediterranean migration and asylum in Europe, I think it is important to keep in mind that the smuggling allegation still sends a message that authorities in Italy – and across Europe – view providing humanitarian assistance as potentially criminal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a blue shirt speaks into a voice amplifier while rows of people sit behind him on steps" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462560/original/file-20220511-14-onuxo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Andrea Costa, director of the migrant rights group Baobab Experience, protests with migrants in Rome in August 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/migrants-and-a-group-of-volunteers-of-the-garrison-organized-by-in-picture-id827371216?s=2048x2048">Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Migrant homelessness</h2>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911">1 million migrants</a> crossed the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, fleeing violence and political and economic instability in Africa and the Middle East in hopes of finding refuge in Europe. </p>
<p>Since 2015, migrants have continued to journey to Europe from other unstable regions, with Ukraine as the latest – and largest – <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/un-ukraine-refugee-crisis-is-europes-biggest-since-wwii/">displacement in Europe</a> since World War II. </p>
<p>The increase in arrivals in 2015 became known globally as Europe’s <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/stories/2015/12/56ec1ebde/2015-year-europes-refugee-crisis.html">“refugee crisis</a>.” The large influx of people tested European Union countries’ migration and refugee policies, and <a href="https://rm.coe.int/annual-report-on-ecri-s-activities-covering-the-period-from-1-january-/16808ae6d6">racist, anti-immigrant sentiments</a> grew throughout Europe. </p>
<p>European Union countries also <a href="https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/ch16-over-troubled-waters.pdf">scaled back rescue operations</a>, leaving <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2021/01/12/migration-central-mediterranean-timeline-rescue">thousands of migrants to drown</a> at sea. </p>
<p>In the meantime, <a href="http://aei.pitt.edu/80163/1/LSE_No_94_DocumentingMigration.pdf">migrant homelessness</a> increased across Europe. </p>
<p>In Italy, some migrants chose to live on the streets rather than stay in <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2016/08/italys-migrant-hotspot-centres-raise-legal-questions">overcrowded reception centers</a>, some of which had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/01/migrants-more-profitable-than-drugs-how-mafia-infiltrated-italy-asylum-system">ties to organized crime</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.unhcr.org/4a9d13d59.pdf">European Union policy</a> mandates that migrants register their asylum claims in the country where they first enter the region. For many, their first stop was Italy, where migrants live in <a href="https://www.vuesdeurope.eu/en/brief/an-overview-of-reception-conditions-for-asylum-seekers-across-european-countries/">reception centers</a> while authorities process their claims. At these centers, migrants receive meals and basic aid, but they have limited options for working or for integrating socially while waiting on their cases. The asylum process is slow, and migrants can wind up living in <a href="https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/italy/reception-conditions/short-overview-italian-reception-system/">reception centers</a> for two years while waiting to hear if they can get legal protection and stay in Europe. </p>
<p>In 2016, the health nonprofit Doctors Without Borders documented <a href="https://www.msf.fr/communiques-presse/out-of-sight-informal-settlements-2nd-edition">at least 10,000 migrants</a> living in <a href="https://gsdrc.org/topic-guides/urban-governance/key-policy-challenges/informal-settlements/">informal settlements</a> throughout Italy. </p>
<h2>The case in question</h2>
<p>Through my research at migrant <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1536504218776959">camps</a> and Italian migrant <a href="https://www.fmreview.org/recognising-refugees/paynter">reception centers</a>, I have observed how local nonprofits play an important role in meeting migrants’ basic needs when national and local governments fail to do so. </p>
<p>In 2016, Baobab Experience operated an <a href="https://lavocedinewyork.com/mediterraneo/2016/07/25/campo-profughi-citta-migranti-via-cupa/">unofficial encampment</a> in a street called Via Cupa in Rome, where homeless migrants could stay in tents, and where volunteers provided them with free meals, medical care and legal aid.</p>
<p>In October 2016, police closed down the camp, leaving residents without shelter. Rome’s reception centers were already overcrowded. Nine Chadian and Sudanese migrants who had been living in Via Cupa decided to travel to a <a href="https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/10248/rise-in-migrants-in-ventimiglia-red-cross-camp">Red Cross migrant camp</a> in Ventimiglia, along the French border. </p>
<p>Costa and two other volunteers purchased these migrants bus tickets to Genoa in October 2016. One volunteer accompanied them there and then farther west to the camp in Ventimiglia. </p>
<p>Italy’s Anti-Mafia Directorate, a national investigative body that combats organized crime and has <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/04/30/italy-anti-mafia-migrant-rescue-smuggling/">handled cases related to trafficking in immigration since 2013</a>, alleged that the ticket purchase constituted migrant smuggling. Rome prosecutors <a href="https://nowheadline.com/migrants/baobab-chief-risked-18-years-for-helping-migrants-acquitted/">charged Costa</a> and his colleagues with aiding and abetting illegal immigration.</p>
<p>The aid workers earned nothing from the exchange, nor did they transport anyone across an international border. But <a href="https://www.criminaljusticenetwork.eu/en/post/uses-and-abuses-of-the-anti-smuggling-law-in-italy">under Italian law</a>, investigators do not have to prove that someone profited off of migrants to charge them with smuggling. </p>
<h2>Criminalizing aid in Europe</h2>
<p>In recent years, local and national authorities in France and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/93yk55/decade-of-hate-italy-matteo-salvini">Italy</a> and <a href="https://ecre.org/malta-intensifies-crackdown-on-rescuing-organisations-while-deaths-in-the-mediterranean-are-on-the-rise/">Malta</a> have brought criminal charges against groups providing humanitarian assistance to migrants. </p>
<p>Since 2017, for example, some nonprofit rescue ship crews who <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/italy-ngos-argue-over-migrant-rescue-code-of-conduct/a-39825332">refused to sign</a> an Italian government recommended <a href="https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/refugees/community/2017/08/16/expert-views-should-rescue-ngos-sign-mediterranean-code-of-conduct">code of conduct</a> allowing armed police to board their vessels have faced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/mar/04/refugee-rescuers-charged-in-italy-with-complicity-in-people-smuggling">charges of working with human smugglers</a>. </p>
<p>This political shift has created a culture of uncertainty, where humanitarian assistance comes with legal risk. Other cases also speak to this trend.</p>
<p>In Greece, for example, Irish citizen Seán Binder and Syrian refugee Sara Mardini <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/magazine/greece-migration-ngos.html">face a long list of charges, including money laundering, espionage and trafficking</a>, for their work helping migrants with the Greek search-and-rescue nonprofit Emergency Response Center International. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men wearing life jackets and masks sit with small children in a motorboat at sea." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462567/original/file-20220511-13-jkc5nb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children were among the stranded migrants rescued by a search-and-rescue boat in French waters on May 9, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/migrants-are-rescued-by-crew-members-of-the-abeille-languedoc-ship-picture-id1240573049?s=2048x2048">Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A moment in European politics</h2>
<p>The acquittal of the Baobab Experience president and volunteers comes at a moment that has revealed contradictory ideas of who deserves refuge in Europe. </p>
<p>In early April, Costa and a group of volunteers returned from Moldova to Italy, bringing with them several people fleeing Ukraine. “We crossed five international borders … to the applause of authorities,” Costa said at an April 14 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=297985892517022">press conference</a>. </p>
<p>A few weeks later, Costa’s 2016 bus fare purchase for migrants from Africa’s Sahel region risked landing him in prison, as the case had just reached a judge in May 2022.</p>
<p>Some migration aid groups are trying to highlight this discrepancy and hold national authorities accountable for policies that they say result in migrants’ dying. </p>
<p>Italian far-right politician Matteo Salvini, for example, faces federal charges of kidnapping in Palermo for his <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20211023-italy-s-former-interior-minister-salvini-stands-trial-on-migrant-kidnapping-charges">attempts to close ports to rescue ships</a> in 2019. Charges allege that Salvini’s “closed ports” policy prevented the Open Arms ship from bringing rescued migrants to safety, essentially holding them hostage at sea. <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20211023-salvini-s-moment-has-passed-fading-champion-of-italy-s-right-wing-on-trial-for-migrant-kidnapping">Several migration</a> groups are serving as civil parties in the <a href="https://mediterranearescue.org/en/news-en/mediterranea-civil-party-in-the-case-against-salvini/">case against Salvini</a>. In Italy, civil groups can sign on to a criminal case to support legal charges. </p>
<p>Costa’s case now joins other recent court cases in Europe that involve rescue and humanitarian groups and have also resulted <a href="https://www.aerzte-ohne-grenzen.de/sites/default/files/2018-italy-report-informal-refugee-settements.pdf">in dropped</a> charges.</p>
<p>In France, Cédric Herrou, a farmer charged with smuggling after he drove migrants across the border from Italy, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/world/europe/france-migrants-farmer-fraternity.html">cleared of wrongdoing</a> in 2018. </p>
<p>Italy brought charges against German national Carola Rackete, captain of the Sea Watch rescue ship, but eventually dropped them. Rackete was arrested in 2019 after she <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/02/more-than-1m-raised-for-rescue-ship-captain-carola-rackete-italy">entered Italian waters without permission</a> to disembark 40 rescued migrants in the port of Catania. </p>
<p>Cases like these give hope to migrant rights and aid groups. But the allegations still send a broader political message that not all assistance is welcomed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60492918">Migrants themselves</a> are confronting <a href="https://www.borderline-europe.de/unsere-arbeit/kheiraldin-abdallah-und-mohamad-paros3-zu-ingesamt-439-jahren-haft-verurteilt-weil-sie?l=en">extreme sentences</a> on smuggling charges. Rescue crews also face <a href="https://iuventa-crew.org/2022/03/10/italy-launches-its-biggest-trial-against-sea-rescue-ngos/">similar allegations</a> – meaning that European groups helping migrants continue to operate in uncertainty about whether they will be able to continue their work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182225/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eleanor Paynter has conducted ethnographic research in camps operated by Baobab Experience.</span></em></p>Italian aid workers charged with helping migrants travel through the country were acquitted in May 2022. But migrants are often not well received in Europe, despite a welcome of Ukrainian refugees.Eleanor Paynter, Postdoctoral Associate in Migrations, Einaudi Center for International Studies, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1738112022-01-25T13:27:01Z2022-01-25T13:27:01ZFrom odor to action – how smells are processed in the brain and influence behavior<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441580/original/file-20220119-23-1y38fqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2734%2C1342&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The compact olfactory system provides a more accessible way to study the brain as a whole.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-a-dogs-nose-royalty-free-image/603137803">Esther Kok/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A dog raises its nose in the air before chasing after a scent. A mosquito zigzags back and forth before it lands on your arm for its next meal. What these behaviors have in common is that they help these animals “see” their world through their noses.</p>
<p>While humans primarily use their vision to navigate their environment, the vast majority of organisms on Earth communicate and experience the world through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2005.10.022">olfaction</a> – their sense of smell.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wn_f7y0AAAAJ&hl=en">We</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JEi-fdoAAAAJ&hl=en">are</a> <a href="https://www.bbe.caltech.edu/people/elizabeth-j-hong">members</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GpkJjVUAAAAJ&hl=en">of</a> <a href="https://www.odor2action.org">Odor2Action</a>, an international network of over 50 scientists and students using olfaction to study brain function in animals. Our goal is to understand a fundamental question in neuroscience: How do animal brains translate information from their environments to changes in their behaviors?</p>
<p>Here, we trace the interconnections between smells and behaviors – looking at how behavior influences odor detection, how the brain processes sensory information from smells and how this information triggers new behaviors.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/58U52lDTuvk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Visualizing what smells look like helps researchers design technologies that detect odors as well as a dog can.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Detecting odors in the environment</h2>
<p>When the odor of a flower is released into the air, it takes the shape of a wind-borne <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s003480000263">cloud of molecules called a plume</a>. It encounters physical obstacles and temperature differences as it flows through space. These interactions create turbulence that splits the odor plume into thin threads that spread out as the scent moves away from its source. These filaments eventually reach an animal’s nose or an insect’s antenna.</p>
<p>Odors that are broken up into filaments present a challenge to animals using them to find food or mates or avoid threats. It becomes difficult to predict precisely where the odor is coming from. Is the source directly ahead, to the left or right, above or below?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jQaHbHMrqmE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video by the Crimaldi Laboratory of the University of Colorado Boulder shows an odor plume developing behind a moving source over time. The source moves up and down from the left side, and the odor flows from left to right.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To work around this, animals have evolved what are called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10827-021-00798-1">active sensing</a> behaviors that improve their ability to detect and find odors in the environment.</p>
<p>When a fly detects the smell of fruit or a mosquito detects carbon dioxide from a possible host, for example, both insects first move upwind to get closer to the odor of the food source. They then move in a meandering, back-and-forth motion called casting to find more odor threads before surging upwind again. If they lose the scent, they’ll start casting again until they find the scent. Larger animals, such as mice and dogs, also alternate between more directed movements and more exploratory searching actions. </p>
<p>Animals also move their noses and antennae to improve the chances that they’ll encounter an odor. This is why dogs raise their noses in the air to increase the amount of odor they can sniff, and why insects move their antennae to stir up and penetrate the air to make better contact with odor molecules. </p>
<p>Once information from odors tell the animal that they’re close to the source, visual searching then comes into play.</p>
<h2>Making sense of odors</h2>
<p>When an animal comes into contact with an odor plume, it detects the presence of these odor molecules through tiny proteins called <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2004/summary/">odorant receptors</a>. These receptors are embedded in the sensory neurons lining its nasal cavity or antennae.</p>
<p>Each sensory neuron contains only one type of odorant receptor. And each type of odorant receptor has a different shape and set of chemical properties that determine which odors can bind to and activate it. Most of these receptors recognize multiple odors, and most odors can bind to multiple different receptors. What encodes the identity of a specific odor in the brain is determined by which combination of receptors are activated, and their relative strength of activation.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MyHR6a-zJM0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video from the Wachowiak Lab at the University of Utah shows the activity of the olfactory bulb in a mouse brain as the mouse is exposed to different odors. Different odors make different combinations of neurons in the olfactory bulb light up.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An animal like a mouse has about a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2005.10.022">thousand types</a> of odorant receptors. Having a large number of these receptors with diverse shapes allows the system to detect and distinguish between a very large number of chemically unique odors, including ones the animal has never encountered before. Most odors in the environment are often a mix of many different types of molecules. The smell of some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.38.091206.095601">flowers</a> can be a blend of over 100 different chemical compounds.</p>
<p>Once an odor molecule binds to a receptor, sensory neurons send specific <a href="https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s2/chapter09.html">electrical signals</a> into compartments of the brain called <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2014.00098">olfactory glomeruli</a>. Different odors elicit distinct patterns of electrical activity across these regions, and this generates a specific neural representation of the odor in the brain.</p>
<p>An important step toward understanding olfaction is figuring out how different classes of odors map to different patterns of electrical signals in the brain.</p>
<p>Neuroscientists hypothesize that as these signals undergo successive stages of processing deep in the brain, sensory representations of odor are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-013941">reformatted</a> in ways that extract information most useful to survival. This could be whether the smell is coming from something nutritious, indicating a potential source of food, or it could help the animal identify whether the smell is coming from a potential competitor or predator.</p>
<p>These reformatted sensory representations form the basis for how animals perceive smell and determine what actions they take in response to this information.</p>
<h2>From odor to action</h2>
<p>Once information about a particular odor reaches the brain, it often elicits both instinctual and learned <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1668-18.2018">behaviors</a>. Odors that signal danger may trigger the animal to freeze or run away, while odors from a member of the same species may trigger the animal to mark its territory or initiate courtship. </p>
<p>In many cases, animals perform these tasks with incredible <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/dogs-sense-of-smell/">precision and effectiveness</a>. It’s still common to use search dogs to find lost people and pigs to find truffles because available technologies aren’t capable of performing as well.</p>
<p>Animals achieve this level of performance not just because they’re able to detect and identify an odor. They’re also able to integrate odor features, like how intense the odor smells, with environmental clues, like wind direction, and internal cues, like hunger. All this information comes together to generate specific sequences of behaviors such as “face into the wind and then walk forward.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FLH36ML8IEU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Dogs rely on smells to provide long-distance information. Humans, on the other hand, use smells for short distances.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To understand how odor guides these behaviors, scientists measure or manipulate an animal’s brain activity as they perform specific actions. This is done using imaging, electrophysiology or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4091">optogenetics</a>, which selectively activates specific neurons by shining a light on them. These approaches allow researchers to understand how patterns of brain activity shift when an animal changes its behavior to chase after an odor, or how environmental and internal cues combine to produce a best guess on the location of its next meal. </p>
<h2>Leading science and technology by the nose</h2>
<p>The olfactory system offers a unique opportunity to understand how the brain processes environmental information and translates it to behavior. Compared to other areas of the brain, the olfactory circuit is simpler in structure and uses fewer stages of processing. Its relative simplicity is what allows scientists like us to study it from end to end and learn how the brain works as a whole.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rescue worker with a service dog goes through the ruins of a residential house to search for survivors" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441622/original/file-20220119-15-1atg4u1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Robots may one day be able to replace dogs in search and rescue situations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rescue-worker-with-a-service-dog-goes-through-the-ruins-of-news-photo/1229115883">Valery Sharifulin/TASS via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Understanding brain function through the lens of olfaction could also pave the way for transformative developments in engineering, neuroscience and public health. Our research should accelerate the development of robots with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0278364908095118">electronic noses</a> that can use odors to search for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbsr.2019.100305">chemical weapons</a>,
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/divers-try-locate-source-reported-oil-spill-gulf-coast-guard-2021-09-05/">underwater oil spills</a>
and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions5030028">natural gas</a> leaking from pipelines in environments where it may be tedious or dangerous for humans or animals to go. Robots might also be able to search for missing people or disaster victims, something typically done with <a href="https://www.popsci.com/scientists-want-to-build-robotic-sniffer-that-outperforms-search-dogs/">trained dogs</a>.</p>
<p>An exciting future in scientific and medical development, we believe, is right under our noses.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Crimaldi receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian H Smith receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Hong receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Curci Research Foundation, and the Luce Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nathan Urban receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>Understanding how the brain translates smells into behavior change can help advance search and rescue technology and treatments for neurological conditions.John Crimaldi, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado BoulderBrian H. Smith, Trustees of ASU Professor, Arizona State UniversityElizabeth Hong, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, California Institute of TechnologyNathan Urban, Provost and Senior Vice President, Lehigh University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1654122021-08-11T14:58:02Z2021-08-11T14:58:02ZDisaster-mapping drones often neglect deadliest, costliest events and hardest-hit areas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415288/original/file-20210809-13-ownnan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C6%2C4573%2C3442&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Drones are increasingly being used in disaster management.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, disasters <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/human-cost-disasters-overview-last-20-years-2000-2019">kill an average of 60,000 people, affect 200 million and cause US$150 billion in damage</a>. To combat these devastating impacts, governments and other stakeholders <a href="https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/list-of-activations-rapid">routinely rely on images captured by satellites and crewed aircraft</a> for crucial tasks such as identifying and monitoring areas most at risk, evacuation routes, damage severity and extent, and recovery progress. </p>
<p>Alongside these standard spaceborne and airborne platforms, small aerial drones equipped with cameras are relatively newer tools. Praised for their low cost, easy use and capture of on-demand visuals, drones may be a <a href="https://dronesense.com/customers">game-changing technology</a> for emergency response.</p>
<p>Drones are now routine photojournalistic tools used to capture compelling images and videos of the devastation occurring from major events. Their fly-through videos are a staple feature of many news articles covering <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/3296316/germany-floods-drone-footage-flood-of-death-germany/">floods</a>, <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/drone-footage-captures-massive-landslide-002108320.html">landslides</a>, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/drone-footage-terrifying-glimpse-hawaiian-volcano-damage/story?id=54987152">volcanic eruptions</a>, <a href="https://www.cbs17.com/news/south/drone-video-shows-destruction-after-tornado-hits-small-town-in-wake-of-tropical-storm-claudette/">storms</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drone-footage-shows-wildfire-scorched-oregon-neighborhood-n1240130">wildfires</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nepal-earthquake-drones-used-by-canadian-relief-team-1.3051106">earthquakes</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QFnqDPd2AfI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Drone footage of floods in Belgium and Germany.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Drones and disaster management</h2>
<p>International organizations like the Red Cross have been using drones across their global networks. But there exists a <a href="https://americanredcross.github.io/rcrc-drones/index.html">critical knowledge gap of standard applications and lack of standard procedures</a> within and across the humanitarian sector. This contrasts with the highly standardized use of satellites and crewed aircraft by disaster management organizations.</p>
<p>To help illuminate common uses and disparities of disaster-mapping drones around the world, we looked at a variety of research papers. In our new study published in <em>Remote Sensing of Environment</em>, we examined <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112577">over 600 scientific case studies of pre- and post-disaster mapping</a>. We identified global trends and gaps in terms of disaster management application, technology and geography, leading to a list of priorities for future research.</p>
<h2>Drone use in emergencies</h2>
<p>Disaster management activities serve four core functions: <a href="https://www.victoria.ca/assets/Departments/Emergency%7EPreparedness/Documents/City%20of%20Victoria%20Emergency%20Plan.pdf">mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery</a>. </p>
<p>We found that the majority of studies (87 per cent) were focused on demonstrating drone-based support of mitigation and recovery activities. Commonly supported activities included mitigation-related vulnerability assessment and risk modeling, as well as environmental recovery. Drones were often used to map and monitor the topography and surface features of areas susceptible to and impacted by landslides, earthquakes and floods.</p>
<p>We found a relative lack of response-related research, with only 16 studies indicating that data collection occurred during the emergency phase of a real event. This contradicts a major selling point of drones as on-demand information retrieval tools for disaster response. </p>
<p>We attribute this research gap to the real-world challenges of flying drones in emergencies. These factors include <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-weathers-effects-on-commercial-drones-may-hinder-their-widespread-use-162581">adverse weather conditions</a> and the paramount <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-wildfires-firefighting-helicopter-grounded-by-drone-activity-near-nakusp">safety of first-response aircraft</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1414011945133371393"}"></div></p>
<h2>Understudied disasters</h2>
<p>Earthquakes, floods and storms are the natural hazard-related disasters associated with the <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/human-cost-disasters-overview-last-20-years-2000-2019">most deaths, affected populations and economic losses</a>. However, we found that only a small percentage of studies focused on these events: 14 per cent (earthquakes), 18 per cent (floods) and 12 per cent (storms). Landslides and other mass movements received the most research attention (38 per cent of studies). </p>
<p>This is likely related to the small footprint of landslides and mass movements relative to other disaster types, which is compatible with the typical area coverage of drone flights. Relatedly, we found that 76 per cent of studies flew drones over small areas (less than one square kilometre) and 70 per cent used multirotor drones with less than 30-minute endurance.</p>
<h2>Lower-income and urban areas are neglected</h2>
<p>Lower-income countries and territories are <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/human-cost-disasters-overview-last-20-years-2000-2019">disproportionately impacted</a> by disasters in terms of deaths, people affected and economic losses. We found that the most studies — 64 per cent — were conducted in high-income countries and territories. We suspect this is due to a higher availability of research resources and <a href="https://surfshark.com/drone-privacy-laws">supportive airspace regulations</a> in high-income areas.</p>
<p>Studies also tended to perform research in rural areas (79 per cent), which likely reflects the challenge of obtaining <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/5/459">flight approvals in cities</a>. However, <a href="https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780190922481/obo-9780190922481-0014.xml">the impact of disasters will tend to be greater where people and assets are concentrated</a>, so a lack of research in urban areas is concerning.</p>
<h2>Future research priorities</h2>
<p>Based on our review of the existing research, we propose that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112577">future research is directed toward demonstrating drone-based mapping support of neglected disaster management activities</a>. These include response-related applications where the advantages of drones are perhaps most striking. In emergencies, locally available drones have the potential to acquire visuals in a more timely manner than satellites and crewed aircraft.</p>
<p>We also recommend more focus on earthquakes, floods and storms to target the deadliest and costliest disaster types. Finally, future studies should be conducted in larger, urban and lower-income areas to help the hardest-hit locations. As research progresses, effective and standard applications of drones for supporting disaster management will emerge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165412/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study highlights disparities and proposes research priorities for advancing the use of small aerial drones in disaster management.Maja Kucharczyk, PhD Candidate, Geography, University of CalgaryChris Hugenholtz, Professor, Geography, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1635642021-06-30T12:14:41Z2021-06-30T12:14:41ZAn expert on search and rescue robots explains the technologies used in disasters like the Florida condo collapse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408951/original/file-20210629-26-lqkr91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5696%2C3785&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A drone flies above search and rescue personnel at the site of the Champlain Towers South Condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BuildingCollapseMiami/c1b6b4c886da46aaa5d6bad1fa2624bf/photo">AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Texas A&M’s Robin Murphy has deployed robots at 29 disasters, including three building collapses, two mine disasters and an earthquake as director of the <a href="http://crasar.org/">Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue</a>. She has also served as a technical search specialist with the Hillsboro County (Florida) Fire and Rescue Department. The Conversation talked to Murphy to provide readers an understanding of the types of technologies that search and rescue crews at the Champlain Towers South disaster site in Surfside, Florida, have at their disposal, as well as some they don’t. The interview has been edited for length.</em></p>
<h2>What types of technologies are rescuers using at the Surfside condo collapse site?</h2>
<p>We don’t have reports about it from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, but news coverage shows that they’re using drones.</p>
<p>A standard kit for a technical search specialist would be basically a backpack of tools for searching the interior of the rubble: listening devices and a camera-on-a-wand or <a href="https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/the-best-borescopes-and-inspection-cameras-in-2020">borescope</a> for looking into the rubble. </p>
<h2>How are drones typically used to help searchers?</h2>
<p>They’re used to get a view from above to map the disaster and help plan the search, answering questions like: What does the site look like? Where is everybody? Oh crap, there’s smoke. Where is it coming from? Can we figure out what that part of the rubble looks like? </p>
<p>In Surfside, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were also flying up to look at those balconies that are still intact and the parts that are hanging over. A structural specialist with binoculars generally can’t see accurately above three stories. So they don’t have a lot of ability to determine if a building’s safe for people to be near, to be working around or in, by looking from the ground. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="to the left a drone is in the air, to the right are two balconies of an apartment building tower" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408954/original/file-20210629-15-1i0q7bz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Search and rescue personnel use a drone to inspect the upper floors of the remaining portion of the Champlain Towers South Condo building.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BuildingCollapseMiami/51aa781b3d524f7a93f60cb7f1f5e0af/photo">AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Drones can take a series of photos to generate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8mapLUXyGI">orthomosaics</a>. Orthomosaics are like those maps of Mars where they use software to glue all the individual photos together and it’s a complete map of the planet. You can imagine how useful an orthomosaic can be for dividing up an area for a search and seeing the progress of the search and rescue effort. </p>
<p>Search and rescue teams can use that same data for a digital elevation map. That’s software that gets the topology of the rubble and you can start actually measuring how high the pile is, how thick that slab is, that this piece of rubble must have come from this part of the building, and those sorts of things. </p>
<h2>How might ground robots be used in this type of disaster?</h2>
<p>The current state of the practice for searching the interior of rubble is to use either a small tracked vehicle, such as an <a href="https://youtu.be/9ASvqT8eIkw">Inkutun VGTV Extreme</a>, which is the most commonly used robot for such situations, or a snakelike robot, such as the <a href="https://www.rm.is.tohoku.ac.jp/active+scope+camera_2/">Active Scope Camera</a> developed in Japan. </p>
<p>Teledyne FLIR is sending a couple of <a href="https://www.flir.com/browse/government-defense/unmanned-ground-systems/">tracked robots</a> and operators to the site in Surfside, Florida.</p>
<p>Ground robots are typically used to go into places that searchers can’t fit into and go farther than search cameras can. Search cams typically max out at 18 feet, whereas ground robots have been able to go over 60 feet into rubble. They are also used to go into unsafe voids that a rescuer could fit in but that would be unsafe and thus would require teams to work for hours to shore up before anyone could enter it safely. </p>
<p>In theory, ground robots could also be used to allow medical personnel to see and talk with survivors trapped in rubble, and carry small packages of water and medicine to them. But so far no search and rescue teams anywhere have found anyone alive with a ground robot.</p>
<h2>What are the challenges for using ground robots inside rubble?</h2>
<p>The big problem is seeing inside the rubble. You’ve got basically a concrete, sheetrock, piping and furniture version of pickup sticks. If you can get a robot into the rubble, then the structural engineers can see the interior of that pile of pickup sticks and say “Oh, OK, we’re not going pull on that, that’s going to cause a secondary collapse. OK, we should start on this side, we’ll get through the debris quicker and safer.” </p>
<p>Going inside rubble piles is really hard. Scale is important. If the void spaces are on the order of the size of the robot, it’s tricky. If something goes wrong, it can’t turn around; it has to drive backward. Tortuosity – how many turns per meter – is also important. The more turns, the harder it is. </p>
<p>There’s also different surfaces. The robot may be on a concrete floor, next thing it’s on a patch of somebody’s shag carpeting. Then it’s got to go through a bunch of concrete that’s been pulverized into sand. There’s dust kicking up. The surroundings may be wet from all the sewage and all the water from sprinkler systems and the sand and dust start acting like mud. So it gets really hard really fast in terms of mobility. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0yHjQKXWqYI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The author’s work includes putting robots through their paces at Texas A&M’s ‘Disaster City,’ a training facility with full-scale mockups of disaster sites including collapsed buildings.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is your current research focus?</h2>
<p>We look at human-robot interaction. We discovered that of all of the robots we could find in use, including ours – and we were the leading group in deploying robots in disasters – 51% of the failures during a disaster deployment were due to human error. </p>
<p>It’s challenging to work in these environments. I’ve never been in a disaster where there wasn’t some sort of surprise related to perception, something that you didn’t realize you needed to look for until you’re there. </p>
<h2>What is your ideal search and rescue robot?</h2>
<p>I’d like someone to develop a robot ferret. Ferrets are kind of snakey-looking mammals. But they have legs, small little legs. They can scoot around like a snake. They can claw with their little feet and climb up on uneven rocks. They can do a full meerkat, meaning they can stretch up really high and look around. They’re really good at balance, so they don’t fall over. They can be looking up and all of a sudden the ground starts to shift and they’re down and they’re gone – they’re fast. </p>
<h2>How do you see the field of search and rescue robots going forward?</h2>
<p>There’s no real funding for these types of ground robots. So there’s no economic incentive to develop robots for building collapses, which are very rare, thank goodness.</p>
<p>And the public safety agencies can’t afford them. They typically cost US$50,000 to $150,000 versus as little as $1,000 for an aerial drone. So the cost-benefit doesn’t seem to be there. </p>
<p>I’m very frustrated with this. We’re still about the same level we were 20 years ago at the World Trade Center.</p>
<p>[<em>Get our best science, health and technology stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-best">Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163564/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin R. Murphy volunteers with the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue. She receives funding from the National Science Foundation for her work in disaster robotics and with CRASAR. She is affiliated with Texas A&M.</span></em></p>At building collapse sites, aerial drones and ground robots can extend the eyes and ears of search and rescue personnel to places people can’t go – above and inside the rubble pile.Robin R. Murphy, Raytheon Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Vice-President Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (nfp), Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1564762021-05-25T12:13:16Z2021-05-25T12:13:16ZFast computers, 5G networks and radar that passes through walls are bringing ‘X-ray vision’ closer to reality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398750/original/file-20210504-16-1g0vl3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4259%2C3914&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seeing through walls has long been a staple of comics and science fiction. Something like it could soon be a reality.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/man-with-x-ray-glasses-royalty-free-illustration/pop004?adppopup=true">Paul Gilligan/Photodisc via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Within seconds after reaching a city, earthquakes can cause immense destruction: Houses crumble, high-rises turn to rubble, people and animals are buried in the debris.</p>
<p>In the immediate aftermath of such carnage, emergency personnel desperately search for any sign of life in what used to be a home or office. Often, however, they find that they were digging in the wrong pile of rubble, and precious time has passed.</p>
<p>Imagine if rescuers could see through the debris to spot survivors under the rubble, measure their vital signs and even generate images of the victims. This is rapidly becoming possible using see-through-wall radar technology. Early versions of the technology that indicate whether a person is present in a room have been in use for several years, and some can measure vital signs albeit under better conditions than through rubble. </p>
<p>I’m an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=D_b0_TYAAAAJ&hl=en">electrical engineer</a> who researches electromagnetic communication and imaging systems. I and others are using fast computers, new algorithms and radar transceivers that collect large amounts of data to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2017.2650911">enable something much closer to the X-ray vision</a> of science fiction and comic books. This emerging technology will make it possible to determine how many occupants are present behind a wall or barrier, where they are, what items they might be carrying and, in policing or military uses, even what type of body armor they might be wearing. </p>
<p>These see-through-wall radars will also be able to track individuals’ movements, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2942358.2942381">heart and respiration rates</a>. The technology could also be used to determine from a distance the entire layout of a building, down to the location of pipes and wires within the walls, and detect hidden weapons and booby traps.</p>
<p>See-through-wall technology has been under development since the Cold War as a way to replace drilling holes through walls for spying. There are a few commercial products on the market today, like <a href="https://www2.l3t.com/cyterra/range-r.html">Range-R</a> radar, that are <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/19/police-radar-see-through-walls/22007615/">used by law enforcement officers to track motion</a> behind walls.</p>
<h2>How radar works</h2>
<p>Radar stands for radio detection and ranging. Using radio waves, a radar sends a signal that travels at the speed of light. If the signal hits an object like a plane, for example, it is reflected back toward a receiver and an echo is seen in the radar’s screen after a certain time delay. This echo can then be used to estimate the location of the object. </p>
<p>In 1842, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christian-Doppler">Christian Doppler</a>, an Austrian physicist, described a phenomenon now known as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4OnBYrbCjY">Doppler effect</a> or Doppler shift, where the change in frequency of a signal is related to the speed and direction of the source of the signal. In Doppler’s original case, this was the light from a binary star system. This is similar to the changing pitch of a siren as an emergency vehicle speeds toward you, passes you and then moves away. <a href="https://www.weatherstationadvisor.com/how-does-weather-radar-work/">Doppler radar</a> uses this effect to compare the frequencies of the transmitted and reflected signals to determine the direction and speed of moving objects, like thunderstorms and speeding cars.</p>
<p>The Doppler effect can be used to detect tiny motions, including heartbeats and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/PROC.1975.9992">chest movement associated with breathing</a>. In these examples, the Doppler radar sends a signal to a human body, and the reflected signal differs based on whether the person is inhaling or exhaling, or even based on the person’s heart rate. This allows the technology to accurately measure these vital signs.</p>
<h2>How radar can go through walls</h2>
<p>Like cellphones, radars use electromagnetic waves. When a wave hits solid walls like drywall or wood walls, a fraction of it is reflected off the surface. But the rest travels through the wall, especially at relatively low radio frequencies. The transmitted wave can be totally reflected back if it hits a metal object or even a human, because the human body’s high water content makes it highly reflective. </p>
<p>If the radar’s receiver is sensitive enough – a lot more sensitive than ordinary radar receivers – it can pick up the signals that are reflected back through the wall. Using well-established signal processing techniques, the reflections from static objects like walls and furniture can be filtered out, allowing the signal of interest – like a person’s location – to be isolated. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram showing a square on the left, a vertical rectangle in the middle and a sphere on the right. A series of four diminishing sine waves pass from the square to the wall, the wall to the sphere, the sphere back to the wall and from the wall to the sq" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402183/original/file-20210521-15-1q4zmel.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The key to using radar to track objects on the other side of a wall is having a very sensitive antenna that can pick up the greatly diminished reflected radio waves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abdel-Kareem Moadi</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Turning data into images</h2>
<p>Historically, radar technology has been limited in its ability to aid in disaster management and law enforcement because it hasn’t had sufficient computational power or speed to filter out background noise from complicated environments like foliage or rubble and produce live images.</p>
<p>Today, however, radar sensors can often collect and process large amounts of data – even in harsh environments – and generate high-resolution images of targets. By using sophisticated algorithms, they can display the data in near real-time. This requires fast computer processors to rapidly handle these large amounts of data, and <a href="https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-ultra-wideband-uwb-technology/">wideband circuits</a> that can rapidly transmit data to improve the images’ resolution. </p>
<p>Recent developments in <a href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3291323/millimeter-wave-wireless-could-help-support-5g-and-iot.html">millimeter wave</a> wireless technology, from 5G to 5G+ and beyond, are likely to help further improve this technology, providing higher-resolution images through order-of-magnitude wider bandwidth. The wireless technology will also speed data processing times because it greatly reduces latency, the time between transmitting and receiving data.</p>
<p>My laboratory is developing fast methods to remotely characterize the electrical characteristics of walls, which help in calibrating the radar waves and optimize the antennas to make the waves more easily pass through the wall and essentially make the wall transparent to the waves. We are also developing the software and hardware system to carry out the radar systems’ big data analyses in near real-time. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="On the left, a laboratory set up showing a cinderblock wall and a foil-covered cardboard silhouette of a person, and, on the right, a radar image showing a corresponding silhouette in a three-dimensional space" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398731/original/file-20210504-14-4vjpva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This laboratory wall-penetrating radar provides more detail than today’s commercial systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aly Fathy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Better electronics promise portable radars</h2>
<p>Radar systems at the low frequencies usually required to see through walls are bulky due to the large size of the antenna. The wavelength of electromagnetic signals corresponds to the size of the antenna. Scientists have been pushing see-through-wall radar technology to higher frequencies in order to build smaller and more portable systems. </p>
<p>In addition to providing a tool for emergency services, law enforcement and the military, the technology could also be used to monitor the elderly and read vital signs of patients with infectious diseases like COVID-19 from outside a hospital room.</p>
<p>One indication of see-through-wall radar’s potential is the U.S. Army’s interest. They’re <a href="https://beta.sam.gov/opp/23889bcd68074e068c474d986cb476c1/view?keywords=%22artificial%20intelligence%22%20&sort=-modifiedDate&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1">looking for technology</a> that can create three-dimensional maps of buildings and their occupants in almost real-time. They are even looking for see-through-wall radar that can create images of people’s faces that are accurate enough for facial recognition systems to identify the people behind the wall. </p>
<p>Whether or not researchers can develop see-through-wall radar that’s sensitive enough to distinguish people by their faces, the technology is likely to move well beyond blobs on a screen to give first responders something like superhuman powers.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aly Fathy receives funding from Army with Villanova University as the prime. He is affiliated with MaXentric Technology and sponsored by DHS.
</span></em></p>The murky blobs visible with today’s wall-penetrating radar could soon give way to detailed images of people and things on the other side of a wall – and even measure people’s breathing and heart rate.Aly Fathy, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1596342021-04-23T05:29:28Z2021-04-23T05:29:28ZSubmarines are designed to hide – so what happens when one goes missing?<p>In waters north of Bali, a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/search-missing-indonesian-submarine-enters-second-day-neighbours-offer-help-2021-04-22/">frantic search</a> is underway for the Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala, missing with 53 crew since the boat failed to make a routine signal report on Wednesday morning.</p>
<h2>How to hunt a submarine</h2>
<p>There are two key challenges when a submarine goes missing. The first is finding it. A submarine is inherently covert. When the Nanggala dived as part of a routine exercise, it is unlikely the boat was being tracked. Even in a close-range exercise it can be very difficult to maintain sonar contact with a submarine. </p>
<p>While Nanggala may have had a known planned track, the only certainty is where the submarine was when it last reported on Wednesday. Typically, the first indication of a missing submarine, unless there has been an obvious collision with a surface vessel, is the absence of the routine “all is well” report. </p>
<p>Navies have <a href="https://divsurg.afod-pofa.com/DIVSURG/APP/Undersea_Medicine/Sub_Med/ATP-MTP_57.pdf">pre-planned procedures</a> for instituting checks and initiating searches if a submarine fails to call in. These are immediately activated when such a report is not received. They rapidly move from what have been termed “SUBLOOK” procedures (looking for a submarine) to “SUBMISS” (submarine is missing) and then, when hope has been lost or evidence of an accident comes in, the self-explanatory “SUBSUNK”.</p>
<h2>A large area of uncertainty</h2>
<p>However many searchers and however sophisticated their sensors, there will almost always be an area of uncertainty, and it can be very large. The faster the submarine has been moving and the longer the interval since its last check, the greater that area will be. </p>
<p>Submarines have emergency indicator buoys which can be released to mark their position in the event of an accident. That is provided, of course, the accident did not incapacitate the crew. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-difficulty-of-searching-for-mh370-in-a-giant-rubbish-patch-25083">The difficulty of searching for MH370 in a giant rubbish patch</a>
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<p>In shallow water, the buoys can remain tethered to the submarine. In deep water they become free-floating, so when the buoys are detected search units must calculate back to the estimated release position, with all the uncertainties that wind and currents bring. This is also the case for any debris or oil slicks on the sea surface – such as the one <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesian-navy-checking-submarine-after-failure-report-back-exercise-2021-04-21/">possibly detected</a> by Indonesian units searching for the missing Nanggala.</p>
<h2>Difficulties of deep water</h2>
<p>The next problem is the ocean floor is rarely flat. Even if the waters are not deep enough to have collapsed the submarine hull under pressure – something that happened to the very similar <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARA_San_Juan_(S-42)">Argentinian submarine San Juan in 2017</a> when it sank in 900 metres of water – it can be very hard to detect the vessel among seabed features. </p>
<p>The search for the San Juan, even though aided by triangulation of the seismic signature of its implosion at depth, took <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46245686">a whole year</a>, with minute examination of the seabed using high-frequency sonar and underwater television cameras. It is conceivable the search for the Nanggala could take as long, or longer.</p>
<p>Once the submarine is found, there is no guarantee anyone aboard is still alive, even if the hull has not imploded. If one or more compartments have flooded, there may be survivors in other sections, but they will have limited air. And that is a key problem. </p>
<h2>Too much depth, too little time</h2>
<p>Time is not on survivors’ side. The problem is, as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56829278">stated by the Indonesian Navy</a>, that the 53 crewmembers of the Nanggala would have only about 72 hours of air once their submarine is disabled. This would mean air is likely to run out some time on Saturday morning.</p>
<p>It is possible to make individual free ascent escapes from a sunken submarine, but this inherently dangerous procedure becomes increasingly risky as water depth increases. Nanggala was operating in an area with depths of up to 700 metres. This is far, far too deep for such methods, although it is just possible the hull has not imploded. </p>
<p>Even if Nanggala is still intact, however, it is also likely 700 metres is too deep for rescue equipment. There are well-developed international procedures for providing help in the event of a submarine accident, and several rescue ships and systems are being <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/indonesia-pleads-for-help-as-submarine-lost/news-story/f9a4d1da6b17ac7769e4c7dd8f7e2305">activated by other nations</a> as well as Indonesia. </p>
<p>Ideally, a deep-water rescue unit can be deployed to mate to a hatch on the submarine and embark the survivors – if the hatch is accessible and if the water is not too deep for the rescue unit concerned. But if the boat is near 700 metres, that may be too deep.</p>
<p>In any case, such a submersible has to travel to the scene. While systems such as the 24-person capacity American Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) can be flown into a region, they then need to be placed aboard a mother ship and sailed to the location of the wreck. </p>
<p>In the case of Nanggala, the Indian Navy has despatched a submarine rescue vessel to help the Indonesians, but this will take around six days to reach the area, and practically every other rescue system that can be made available would also likely arrive too late to help the crew.</p>
<p>And Nanggala has yet to be found.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-australia-need-submarines-at-all-58575">Why does Australia need submarines at all?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Goldrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The search for the Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala faces huge uncertainties and a very tight deadline.James Goldrick, Adjunct Professor in Naval and Maritime Strategy and Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1097602019-03-05T11:38:06Z2019-03-05T11:38:06ZAutonomous drones can help search and rescue after disasters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261996/original/file-20190304-92298-ugrhzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=564%2C225%2C4814%2C2790&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are there people down there who need help?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-national-disaster-texas-small-710897161">Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When disasters happen – whether a natural disaster like a flood or earthquake, or a human-caused one like a mass shooting or bombing – it can be extremely dangerous to send first responders in, even though there are people who badly need help. </p>
<p>Drones are useful, and are helping in the recovery <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/tornadoes-alabama-kill-23-figure-officials-expect-rise/story?id=61448219">after the deadly Alabama tornadoes</a>, but most require individual pilots, who fly the unmanned aircraft by remote control. That limits how quickly rescuers can view an entire affected area, and can delay actual aid from reaching victims.</p>
<p>Autonomous drones could cover more ground more quickly, but would only be more effective if they were able on their own to help rescuers identify people in need. At the <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/index.php">University of Dayton Vision Lab</a>, we are working on developing systems that can help spot people or animals – especially ones who might be trapped by fallen debris. Our technology mimics the behavior of a human rescuer, looking briefly at wide areas and quickly choosing specific regions to focus in on, to examine more closely. </p>
<h2>Looking for an object in a chaotic scene</h2>
<p>Disaster areas are often cluttered with downed trees, collapsed buildings, torn-up roads and other disarray that can make spotting victims in need of rescue very difficult.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261973/original/file-20190304-92310-v7zhtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our system can spot people amid busy surroundings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Dayton Vision Lab</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>My research team has developed an artificial neural network system that can run in a computer onboard a drone. This system can emulate some of the excellent ways human vision works. It analyzes images captured by the drone’s camera and communicates notable findings to human supervisors.</p>
<p>First, our system processes the images to <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/research/wide_area_surveillance/visibility_improvements.php">improve their clarity</a>. Just as humans <a href="https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=2577">squint their eyes</a> to adjust their focus, our technologies take detailed estimates of darker regions in a scene and computationally lighten the images. When images are too hazy or foggy, the system <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/research/wide_area_surveillance/visibility_improvements.php">recognizes they’re too bright</a> and reduces the whiteness of the image to see the actual scene more clearly.</p>
<p>In a rainy environment, human brains use a brilliant strategy to see clearly. By noticing <a href="https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/203576/why-can-we-see-through-rain">the parts of a scene that don’t change</a> – and the ones that do, as the raindrops fall – people can see reasonably well despite rain. Our technology uses the same strategy, continuously investigating the contents of each location <a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s11263-006-0028-6">in a sequence of images</a> to get <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11263-014-0759-8">clear information</a> about the objects in that location. </p>
<p>We also have developed technology that can make images from a drone-borne camera <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/research/wide_area_surveillance/visibility_improvements.php">larger, brighter and clearer</a>. By <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/research/video_preprocessing/super_resolution.php">expanding the size</a> of the image, both algorithms and people can see key features more clearly.</p>
<h2>Confirming objects of interest</h2>
<p>Our system can identify people in various positions, such as lying prone or curled in the fetal position, even from different viewing angles and in varying lighting conditions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261975/original/file-20190304-92280-l9wfb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Confusing and dim lighting can make it hard to identify people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Dayton Vision Lab</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The human brain can look at one view of an object and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-40276-001">envision how it would look from other angles</a>. When police issue an alert asking the public to look for someone, they often include a still photo – knowing that viewers’ minds will imagine three-dimensional views of how that person might look, and recognize them on the street, even if they don’t get the exact same view as the photo offered. We employ this strategy by computing three-dimensional models of people – either general human shapes or more detailed projections of specific people. Those models are used to match similarities <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/research/human_identification/face_detection.php">when a person appears in a scene</a>.</p>
<p>We have also developed a way to detect parts of an object, without seeing the whole thing. Our system can be trained to detect and locate a leg sticking out from under rubble, a hand waving at a distance, or a head popping up above a pile of wooden blocks. It can tell a person or animal apart from a tree, bush or vehicle.</p>
<h2>Putting the pieces together</h2>
<p>During its initial scan of the landscape, our system mimics the approach of an airborne spotter, examining the ground to find possible objects of interest or regions worth further examination, and then looking more closely. For example, an aircraft pilot who is looking for a truck on the ground would typically pay less attention to lakes, ponds, farm fields and playgrounds – because trucks are less likely to be in those areas. Our autonomous technology employs the same strategy to focus the search area to the most significant regions in the scene.</p>
<p>Then our system investigates each selected region to obtain information about the shape, structure and texture of objects there. When it detects a set of features that matches a human being or part of a human, it flags that as a location of a victim. </p>
<p>The drone also collects GPS data about its location, and senses how far it is from other objects it’s photographing. That information lets the system calculate exactly the location of each person needing assistance, and alert rescuers.</p>
<p>All of this process – capturing an image, processing it for maximum visibility and analyzing it to identify people who might be trapped or concealed – takes about one-fifth of a second on the normal laptop computer that the drone carries, along with its high-resolution camera.</p>
<p>The U.S. military is interested in this technology. We have worked with the <a href="https://mrmc.amedd.army.mil/">U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command</a> to find wounded individuals in a battlefield who need rescue. We have adapted this work to serve utility companies searching for <a href="https://www.udayton.edu/engineering/research/centers/vision_lab/research/scene_analysis_and_understanding/pipeline-intrusion-detection.php">intrusions on pipeline paths</a> by construction equipment or vehicles that may damage the pipelines. Utility companies are also interested in detecting any new constructions of buildings near the pipeline pathways. All of these groups – and many more – are interested in technology that can see as humans can see, especially in places humans can’t be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109760/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vijayan Asari is affiliated with University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Dr. Vijayan Asari is a Fellow of SPIE (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) and a Senior Member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). He is a member of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (CIS), IEEE Internet of Things (IoT) Community, Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T), and member of the Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication (INSTICC). Dr. Asari is a co-organizer of several SPIE and IEEE conferences and workshops.
Dr. Asari advises graduate and undergraduate research students in Vision Lab at the University of Dayton.
Dr. Asari does not receive any funding for this specific research project. He uses internal funding for the human detection in complex environment research activity. Dr. Asari did receive funding from various organizations for several research activities that are linked to this research project. He received funding from the US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) for long range human detection in infrared imagery, from the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) for detection of wounded individuals in war field (Research for Casualty Care and Management), from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for object detection and tracking in wide area motion imagery, from Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) for automatic building change detection in satellite imagery, and from the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) for intrusion detection on pipeline right-of-ways.
</span></em></p>Drones already help with search and rescue, but teaching machines to identify victims on their own could free up human rescuers to do other crucial work.Vijayan Asari, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1019282018-09-07T09:19:48Z2018-09-07T09:19:48ZGibraltar’s decision to strip flag from Aquarius rescue ship undermines ancient seafaring principle of solidarity<p>Gibraltar’s decision in late August to terminate permission for the Aquarius to operate as a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean is just the latest example of governments politicising and undermining search and rescue at sea. The fatal consequences of such moves are becoming alarmingly evident, with the UNHCR reporting that the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/08/eu-policies-to-blame-deaths-at-sea-mediterranean-amnesty-international-report?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=36d9c66213-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_09_04_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-36d9c66213-19">death rate in the Mediterranean has soared</a>, particularly on the Central Mediterranean route where the Aquarius has been conducting rescue operations under the Gibraltar flag. </p>
<p>SOS Méditerranée, which runs the Aquarius, <a href="https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180828/local/migrant-rescue-ship-aquarius-getting-panama-flag.687824">has now applied</a> for registration under the flag of Panama. Both Panama and Gibraltar are known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-so-hard-to-keep-track-of-ships-that-get-up-to-no-good-38323">“flag states”</a>, and are responsible for ensuring that the vessels on their registry <a href="http://dev.ulb.ac.be/ceese/ABC_Impacts/glossary/flag.php">comply with international rules and standards</a>.</p>
<p>The Gibraltar government <a href="https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/new/sites/default/files/press/2018/Press%20Releases/469-2018.pdf">stated</a> that the decision to strip the Aquarius of her flag was taken independently by the Maritime Administrator on the basis of a “proper interpretation of all the applicable rules” and that it “was a totally non-political decision”. But my conversations suggest otherwise.</p>
<p>The decision appeared to follow the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/aquarius-charity-rescue-boat-italy-uk-libya-m-decins-sans-fronti-res-gibraltar-a8489671.html">Italian government’s demand</a> that the UK accept the 141 people rescued by the Aquarius on August 10, because the ship was operating under the Gibraltar flag. Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the UK, a status <a href="http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/en/PoliticaExteriorCooperacion/Gibraltar/Paginas/Historia.aspx">contested</a> by Spain. </p>
<p>The Italian government’s claim that the UK, as the “flag state”, should accept the people rescued by the Aquarius is not without precedent. Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher reluctantly accepted people <a href="http://refugeehistory.org/blog/2018/6/22/the-aquarius-and-its-historic-precedents-rescue-at-sea-and-the-politics-of-disembarkation">rescued by ships flying the UK flag</a> during the Indochina Refugee Crisis.</p>
<p>When I asked the Maritime Administrator to explain its “interpretation” of “all the applicable rules”, I was referred to the Gibraltar government. This was despite the fact that in its <a href="https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/new/sites/default/files/press/2018/Press%20Releases/469-2018.pdf">press release</a>, the government described the decision as an “administrative process … in which the government has or has had no involvement”. When asked to clarify, the government said the Aquarius’s permission to operate under the Gibraltar flag had been terminated and advised that it had no further comment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235206/original/file-20180906-190668-64g2z7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The harbour at Gibraltar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTUzNjI1OTIwMiwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTE2OTc0NzE5NCIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTY5NzQ3MTk0L21lZGl1bS5qcGciLCJtIjoxLCJkIjoic2h1dHRlcnN0b2NrLW1lZGlhIn0sIk5OUSsxQWZCcWhBY3hMejZMbElEKzhVOHI2VSJd%2Fshutterstock_1169747194.jpg&pi=33421636&m=1169747194&src=om-DoiJ-jFtWmktyshb1Sw-1-6">Petr Pavlica/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Without any further explanation, it’s difficult to imagine how any interpretation of all the applicable rules could lead to the decision to terminate the Aquarius’s permission to conduct rescue operations. </p>
<p>An expert with years of experience negotiating and interpreting the “applicable rules”, who asked to remain anonymous, told me that the decision seems absurd. They said interfering with rescue at sea for political reasons ashore is a disgrace.</p>
<h2>Help for those in distress</h2>
<p>In fact, the rules are quite simple. The overriding legal obligation placed on all – including coastal and flag states, and vessels of all kinds – is the duty to provide assistance to those in distress at sea. There is nothing in the suite of international conventions that provide the framework for the international law of the sea that appears to justify Gibraltar’s decision. What other rules the Gibraltar government might be referring to remain a mystery. </p>
<p>But the move comes as states such as Italy and Malta at the EU’s Mediterranean border are increasingly closing their ports to vessels that have rescued people at sea, until other member states agree to receive and process asylum requests from the people onboard. </p>
<p>This is <a href="http://refugeehistory.org/blog/2018/6/22/the-aquarius-and-its-historic-precedents-rescue-at-sea-and-the-politics-of-disembarkation">not a new phenomenon</a>. In the 1970s, coastal states such as Hong Kong (then under British colonial control) refused entry to commercial ships that rescued people escaping Vietnam in the aftermath of the failed US intervention. More recently, in 2001, Australia <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australia-turns-away-rescue-ship-carrying-asylum-seekers-667207.html">refused entry</a> to a commercial ship after directing her captain to rescue 433 people in the international waters around Christmas Island, even sending an SAS team to prevent her from entering Australian territorial waters. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/ngos-under-attack-for-saving-too-many-lives-in-the-mediterranean-75086">NGOs under attack for saving too many lives in the Mediterranean</a>
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<h2>Solidarity at stake</h2>
<p>Today, NGOs are essential to the provision of search and rescue in the central Mediterranean, because of the tragically inadequate search and rescue provision from EU member states and agencies. While these NGOs initially managed to forge a cooperative, if sometimes uneasy, relationship with coastal states’ search and rescue authorities, recent developments have seen their operations being <a href="https://theconversation.com/crew-of-ngo-ship-grounded-in-malta-sound-alarm-as-search-and-rescue-co-operation-founders-in-mediterranean-99308">increasingly undermined</a> by national, and nationalist, politics. This comes at a time of increasing intolerance of those who express <a href="https://helprefugees.org/volunteer-blog/the-crime-of-solidarity/">solidarity for refugees in Europe</a>.</p>
<p>Gibraltar’s decision shows how the integrity of the ancient seafaring principle of solidarity (first codified in the <a href="http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/conven/salvage1910.html">1910 Brussels Convention on Salvage</a>, and reflected in all conventions on safety and rescue at sea since) “to render assistance to everybody, even though an enemy, found at sea in danger of being lost”, is being severely undermined by European policies on migration and asylum. Such moves expose how the EU, and Europe’s, commitment to international law, rescue and refuge are being sidelined in the context of a politics that increasingly defines “the migrant” or “asylum-seeker” as an enemy not worthy of rescue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katy Budge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Gibraltar’s decision to terminate permission for the Aquarius to conduct operations in the Mediterranean is the latest example of national politics undermining rescue at sea.Katy Budge, Doctoral Researcher, Department of Politics, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/993082018-07-04T11:09:08Z2018-07-04T11:09:08ZCrew of NGO ship grounded in Malta sound alarm as search and rescue co-operation founders in Mediterranean<p>Malta’s <a href="https://sea-watch.org/en/321/">detention of the Sea-Watch 3 vessel</a> on July 2 represents an increasingly aggressive crackdown on NGO search and rescue vessels in the central Mediterranean. While many groups <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/14/three-ngos-halt-mediterranean-migrant-rescues-after-libyan-hostility">halted their activities</a> over the past year, <a href="https://sea-watch.org/">Sea-Watch</a> continued in its efforts to search for and rescue people on the move across the Mediterranean Sea. </p>
<p>A few days before the ship was detained, I visited the Sea-Watch 3 vessel in Malta as part of my <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/research/researchcentres/irs/humandignity/">research</a> on Mediterranean border deaths. A newly arrived crew of volunteers were wondering whether or not they would manage to make the journey out to sea. Some of the longer-standing crew members had been busy supporting its sister ship, the Lifeline, which had been stuck at sea for <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44636556">five days</a> with <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rescue-ships-to-be-impounded-as-eus-big-hearted-welcome-shrinks-2mgd530lg">234 vulnerable people on board</a>, including 70 unaccompanied minors, three babies and a child.</p>
<p>As with the <a href="https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/first-boat-in-aquarius-convoy-carrying-630-migrants-docks-in-spain-37018987.html">Aquarius</a> vessel, which became stuck at sea with 630 people on board earlier in June, the Lifeline found that after it had rescued people at sea there was no port open where it could dock. Initially accused of aiding and abetting irregular migration, the captain of the Lifeline was <a href="https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/court_and_police/87932/live_lifeline_captain_taken_to_court_in_malta#.WzodZS2ZNsM">charged in Malta on July 2</a> for the ship’s lack of proper registration and the ship was impounded on the island. </p>
<p>It is in this context that the Sea-Watch 3 vessel was also detained in Malta, despite being listed as a <a href="https://sea-watch.org/en/321/">Dutch vessel</a> entitled to fly the Dutch flag. Although Sea-Watch is a German-based civil society group that also includes volunteers from other countries, the Sea-Watch 3 flies the Dutch flag. It previously sailed as <a href="https://www.msf.org/video-dignity-mediterranean">Dignity I</a> under the Dutch branch of Médecins Sans Frontières, before the 50 metre long ship was bought by Sea-Watch in 2017. <a href="https://sea-watch.org/en/project/sea-watch-2/">Sea-Watch 2</a> was subsequently bought and renamed as Lifeline. </p>
<p>It is not just the <a href="https://euobserver.com/migration/141464">criminalisation</a> of crew members that has become a significant factor in impeding NGO missions in the Mediterranean. So too have threats of violence from the Libyan coastguard against such groups. Three NGOs: MSF, Save the Children and Sea Eye <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/14/three-ngos-halt-mediterranean-migrant-rescues-after-libyan-hostility">stopped</a> their activities in mid-2017 in the face of the hostile stance of the Libyan authorities. </p>
<h2>Co-operation stalling</h2>
<p>The EU has invested resources into <a href="https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/13195/eunavfor-med-operation-sophia-starts-training-of-libyan-navy-coast-guard-and-libyan-navy_en">training the Libyan coastguard</a> over the past few years, which has only added to what appears to be an increasingly hostile European response to NGOs carrying out search and rescue in the Mediterranean. The <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/About/Pages/Default.aspx">International Maritime Organisation</a> (IMO) is also providing maritime <a href="http://www.marsecreview.com/2018/05/imo-trains-libya-pfsos/">security training</a> for the Libyan coastguard, in an effort to make it a functioning entity. </p>
<p>When I met members of the Sea-Watch crew in late June, they told me that the IMO had just started to recognise Libya’s capability to coordinate sea rescue. This means that the <a href="https://sarcontacts.info/contacts/comando-generale-del-corpo-delle-capitanerie-di-porto-guardia-costiera-5972/">Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre</a> (MRCC Rome) is now refusing to co-ordinate rescues off the Libyan coast. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/slave-auctions-in-libya-are-the-latest-evidence-of-a-reality-for-migrants-the-eu-prefers-to-ignore-88589">Slave auctions in Libya are the latest evidence of a reality for migrants the EU prefers to ignore</a>
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<p>As one crew member I spoke to said, this has led to the MRCC Rome “actively rejecting any responsibility” for coordinating civilian rescues, so that by late June the co-operation between Sea-Watch and MRCC Rome had “stopped altogether”. </p>
<p>I was told by Sea-Watch crew members that the halt in co-operation of recent weeks reflects a <a href="https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/pushing-0">broader shift</a> that has been occurring over the past year or so. While Sea-Watch previously saw itself as an ally of MRCC Rome with a shared concern to rescue people at sea, it is now increasingly treated as an intruder that lures people across the Mediterranean Sea to the EU. </p>
<p>The crew on the Sea-Watch cautioned about the unreliability of the Libyan coastguard and their failure to meet the requirements of search and rescue. I was told: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Libyan coastguard has grown out of a militia group … in a civil war … we have documented I don’t know how many cases of their mistreatment of the refugees, of violence and abuse which have led to the deaths of people at sea, and for these reasons we absolutely reject to work with them because they are not aiding people.</p>
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<p>Sea-Watch has played a critical role in documenting the <a href="http://www.forensic-architecture.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018-05-07-FO-Mare-Clausum-full-EN.pdf">aggressive actions of the Libyan coastguard</a>, repeatedly <a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/ruben-neugebauer-sea-watch-migrants-in-libya-facing-torture-and-unlawful-detention">echoing</a> wider concerns about the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/19/eu-shifting-rescue-libya-risks-lives">dangers</a> facing people who are intercepted and returned to Libya.</p>
<h2>Lives at stake</h2>
<p>Such cautions fall on deaf ears. The conclusions of the June European Council summit restated the EU’s support for Libyan search and rescue, and <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/06/29/20180628-euco-conclusions-final/?utm_source=dsms-auto&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=European+Council+conclusions%2c+28+June+2018">emphasised</a> that any operations must “not obstruct operations of the Libyan coastguard”. </p>
<p>European leaders have increasingly claimed that search and rescue acts as a “<a href="http://searchandrescue.msf.org/assets/uploads/files/170831_Analysis_SAR_Issue_Brief_Final.pdf">pull factor</a>” for migration, despite research which emphasises that such claims represent little more than a <a href="https://blamingtherescuers.org/report/">toxic narrative</a>. While the EU’s approach is often dressed up in humanitarian terms, migration experts have argued that recent developments reflect the <a href="https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/04/pushing-0">end of the humanitarian turn</a> toward search and rescue in the Mediterranean. Despite the best efforts of groups such as Sea-Watch, it appears that there is stronger impetus than ever from within the EU to ensure that this is the case.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ngos-under-attack-for-saving-too-many-lives-in-the-mediterranean-75086">NGOs under attack for saving too many lives in the Mediterranean</a>
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<p>Regardless of the relationship between deaths at sea and organised search and rescue operations in the longer term, in the immediate term the effect of EU actions is that more people die at sea. According to UN Operations in Libya, <a href="https://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2018/07/01/63-migrants-feared-dead-off-libyan-coast/?lang=en">204 people died</a> off the coast of Libya during the last week of June. From this perspective, the lives of people at sea appear as nothing more than collateral damage in Europe’s <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-migrant-crisis-rescue-boats-refugees-drowning-charity-mediterranean-a8423261.html">offensive against search and rescue NGOs</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vicki Squire receives funding from The Leverhulme Trust and the UK Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>The Sea-Watch 3 vessel has been prevented from leaving Malta to continue its search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.Vicki Squire, Reader in International Security, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/905162018-01-24T23:47:15Z2018-01-24T23:47:15ZRobots to the rescue: Saving lives with unmanned vehicles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203262/original/file-20180124-107940-18djozo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Westpac Little Ripper drone helped rescue two teens off the coast of Australia by dropping a flotation device to them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Westpac Little Ripper</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/world/australia/drone-rescue-swimmers.html">sea rescue of Australian swimmers by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle</a> (UAV) is just the start of a robotics revolution.</p>
<p>On Jan. 18, an Australian lifeguard piloted a drone over the turbulent ocean off the far north coast of New South Wales to rescue two teens in distress. As thrilling as it was to watch a tiny drone drop a flotation device to the two struggling swimmers, the rescue was relatively easy, using proven robotic technology in an ideal, wide-open environment.</p>
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<p>Drones and UAVs have been used in search and rescue situations around the world for more than a decade. They have searched for victims inside collapsed buildings, collected disaster data, detected dangerous materials and conditions and deployed first aid kits. </p>
<p>But the unmanned robotic systems we use today operate under severe constraints: They need a human to remotely steer the device or a strong GPS signal and open spaces to allow auto-piloted manoeuvring.</p>
<h2>First on the scene</h2>
<p>These robots don’t need to be smaller, more powerful, heat- or collision-resistant, contain more sensors or have better user interfaces. The real challenge for robotics researchers is to develop unmanned rescue robots that are capable of making independent decisions and have the ability to work unsupervised in confined, chaotic spaces. </p>
<p>In the future, rescue drones will be the first on scene, scouring beneath collapsed buildings or looking for plane wreckage in the thick forest, seeking survivors that might otherwise take days to reach.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203261/original/file-20180124-107956-1mlhebp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A search and rescue team from Los Angeles County pulls a woman from the rubble following the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=80091">U.S. Navy</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The challenge for roboticists is to create unmanned vehicles that can adapt to unforeseen situations using previously acquired information and limited available resources. </p>
<p>We won’t see the widespread deployment of Search and Rescue (SAR) robots until researchers find ways to improve the robots’ ability to move in confined spaces and boost their self-awareness, giving them the tools to recognize the intent of any given mission in unforeseen conditions.</p>
<h2>Urban search and rescue</h2>
<p>As a professor at the University of Calgary’s <a href="http://people.ucalgary.ca/%7Earamirez/AR2S-Lab.html">Schulich School of Engineering</a> and the CEO of <a href="http://www.4frontrobotics.com">4Front Robotics</a>, I am developing technology and systems to enable and facilitate the use, deployment and further design of cost effective, highly manoeuvrable fast disaster response robotics.</p>
<p>A key focus of our research is to develop UAVs that can respond rapidly to urban disasters such as quickly locating victims in collapsed buildings following an earthquake.</p>
<p>Unmanned ground, submarine and aerial vehicles can save lives, respond to disasters faster and contain an emergency situation more quickly than traditional techniques and tools. </p>
<p>In August 2017, a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/asia/mumbai-building-collapse/index.html">five-storey building collapsed in Mumbai</a>, India, killing 24 people. Rescue workers pulled 37 people from the building debris. </p>
<p>If UAVs and robots had been available to search the site, more people might have been saved. In a typical collapsed building incident, it takes rescuers an average of five to eight hours to inspect the site to make sure it is safe to look for victims. UAVs and robots could shorten the delay.</p>
<h2>Full of potential</h2>
<p>Robots were first used in urban SAR after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. These devices had primarily been developed for the military or other applications, but several remote-controlled and tele-operated unmanned robotic systems bolstered the search and recovery efforts. </p>
<p>They searched for paths in the rubble that would make it faster for rescue workers to excavate, search for victims and assess the building’s structure.</p>
<p>Robots provided the needed quick response, and they were able to assess the site’s hazardous conditions that put the lives of rescuers, including the fire department, police and other personnel, at great risk. Despite this, the robots were not able to penetrate the depths of the building’s complex spaces, due to their limited mobility and the complexities of guiding them with a joystick.</p>
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<p>We’ve made <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099111215300793">great advances in robotics</a> in the past 15 years. Drones can now be equipped with autopilot systems and vision systems that <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/4526559/">recognize people</a>. They can identify dangerous situations such as the presence of explosive gases, and carry sensors that pick up geometrical features and humidity levels. They can identify objects buried within the rubble.</p>
<p>The military is especially interested in developing highly manoeuvrable, flying UAVs with robotic arms that can navigate highly confined spaces and interact directly with their surroundings. </p>
<p>For example, traditional drone systems such as helicopters and quad-rotors cannot perform the pitch-hover manoeuvres that would allow them to take off from, or land on, sloped mountain surfaces or vessels in rough seas. </p>
<p>In the future, these vehicles will be able to interact with the environment, collecting samples, moving debris and providing medical assistance or victim assessment.</p>
<h2>Building a better future</h2>
<p>To be truly useful, these systems must gain some independence. They must be able to modify their operations as they gather new information, yet follow and cooperate with humans at all times. </p>
<p>We’ll need better artificial intelligence (AI) tools to get to that point. Only then will rescue robots learn to solve problems in the absence of data or human experience. Enhanced AI will enable robots to move themselves throughout their operating environment with minimal human assistance and to self-adapt in novel and groundbreaking ways. </p>
<p>We need robots that can adapt their locomotion style automatically. They must be able to walk, run, roll, crawl, climb, jump, fly or swim, in response to changing environmental conditions.</p>
<p>These tools will also ensure that autonomous robots can deal with unexpected situations or tasks that challenge their sensing, modelling, planning or movement capabilities.</p>
<p>In the future, robots will have to be able to change their shape, geometry and movements based on the perceived terrain or task. </p>
<p>Due to its design, the UAV that found the swimmers in Australia isn’t able to fly for more than 20 to 30 minutes or reach a distant location quickly — and still make it home. The limited battery power, small carrying capacity and a lack of adaptability in current SAR robotic devices severely limit their application. </p>
<p>We need disaster response robots that can hover like helicopters, rapidly transition to high speed flight and penetrate challenging environments. These, along with humanoid SAR robots that use tools (power drills, hydraulic spreaders and shears and pick axes), are currently under development and will be a game changer.</p>
<p>They will assist the responders and the victims, and reduce costs in ways we have yet to discover.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Ramirez-Serrano receives funding from NSERC</span></em></p>Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles are already saving lives in search and rescue operations, but they still need improvements if they’re to be widely used in the most dangerous situations.Alex Ramirez-Serrano, Professor / Researcher in Robotics and Unmanned Vehicles, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/597662016-05-20T14:59:44Z2016-05-20T14:59:44ZEgyptAir MS804: search and rescue at sea is never easy<p>The disappearance of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36333664">EgyptAir flight MS804</a>, presumed lost over the eastern Mediterranean on a flight between Paris and Cairo with all 66 on board, is the latest passenger aircraft to go missing. The loss of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26503141">Malaysia Airlines flight MH370</a> along with its 239 passengers over the Indian Ocean in March 2014 still looms large – the aircraft is yet to be found. While the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean greatly differ in size, both disasters highlight the difficulty of search and rescue operations at sea.</p>
<p>Maritime search and rescue is difficult for many reasons, but operations at sea are inevitably complicated in comparison to those on land – not least due to the need for international cooperation, and the effects of the shifting waters under which that which is lost must be found.</p>
<p>An aircraft that crashes on land may end up in inaccessible areas such as tropical forests or mountain peaks, but it will remain at the same location until it is located. And this location, wherever it is, is most likely to be within a single sovereign state’s national territory, jurisdiction and responsibility. </p>
<p>At sea, however, the additional dimension of depth makes the rescue teams’ efforts extremely hard. This not only comes from the physical difficulty of working under the pressure and depth of the water column above any wreck, along with the darkness or disturbed seabed sediment that make visual location and identification almost impossible. But the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/sep/05/black-box-plane-crash-malaysia-airlines-mh370-mh17-video-animation">flight data recorder transmitter</a> is limited to a range of about 5km: the depth of seawater into which any wreckage falls may mean a strong signal becomes weak and distant, even to those searching directly overhead. Finding MH370’s transmitter in the 73.5 million km<sup>2</sup> of the Indian Ocean is an incredible task; at 2.5 million km<sup>2</sup> the Mediterranean may be smaller, but it is certainly not small.</p>
<p>Further complicating the issue is that, as time passes by, sea currents and weather conditions such as the sea state will cause wreckage to drift. In practice, this means the search and rescue area must continue to expand, rather than shrink, for every hour the search goes on. Teams form an increasingly bigger circle outwards from the estimated point of last contact – in this case, where Greek air traffic control lost contact with the EgyptAir jet. The search areas’ radius increases with calculations based on the weather conditions and time. As an indication, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36273194">debris from flight MH370</a> has been recovered in Mauritius and South Africa, more than 2,500 miles from the estimated crash site.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123392/original/image-20160520-4475-jxenl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Aircraft can travel quicker, but ships are required for really heavy lifting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah E Ard/US Navy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Search and rescue teams working at sea are also subject to the “tyranny of distance”: ships are slow in comparison to aircraft or road vehicles, and take a long time to reach the crash site. Even then, they are limited in how long they can sustain their search until they must return to port to take on more fuel or supplies, and then again return to the area of operations. At all times, ships are at the mercy of the weather conditions – even strong winds can significantly affect performance.</p>
<p>This is why the first and quickest search and rescue response is usually assigned to patrol aircraft or helicopters that can quickly reach an area. Due to their altitude they also have a greater capability to see or locate through radar wreckage or survivors. Of course aircraft too have even more limited flight time, and are little help in the rescue, rather than just the search, aspect of operations.</p>
<h2>International search and rescue</h2>
<p>The need for an international mechanism to provide search and rescue at sea led the International Maritime Organisation to develop the <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/ListOfConventions/Pages/International-Convention-on-Maritime-Search-and-Rescue-(SAR).aspx">International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue</a>. It was adopted by its signatories in 1979 and came into force in 1985. This convention is supplemented by the <a href="https://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/nsarc/IMO%20Maritime%20SAR%20Regions.pdf">13 search and rescue regions</a>, maritime zones that detail which specific states have authority and responsibility to carry out search and rescue operations.</p>
<p>Based on the <a href="http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf">UN Convention on the Law of the Sea</a>, all merchant vessels in an area have a duty to “proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in distress, if informed of their need of assistance”, and this is why the responsible state is required to coordinate civilian shipping in the area. </p>
<p>Although nations’ responsibilities are defined, not all have the capacity to cover huge ocean territories, and this is why international cooperation is essential. This means not only that foreign states contribute their assistance where needed, but that coastal states accept that foreign shipping or aircraft may enter its territorial waters.</p>
<p>This should give a sense of how different and difficult it is to conduct search and rescue at sea. Hopefully, and bearing in mind the huge volume of transoceanic flights and flows of shipping over the vast expanse of ocean worldwide, improving technology and better collaboration between states will continue to help minimise loss of life at sea.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59766/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ioannis Chapsos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why it is so difficult to find planes in water, even ones of vastly different sizes.Ioannis Chapsos, Research Fellow in Maritime Security, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/371862015-02-04T16:50:57Z2015-02-04T16:50:57ZHundreds of ships go missing each year, but we have the technology to find them<p>The seas are vast. And they claim vessels in significant numbers. The yachts <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27553902">Cheeki Rafiki</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/the-nina-disappearance_n_4806713.html">Niña</a>, <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10045483/Catastrophic-event-cause-of-yacht-foundering">Munetra</a>, <a href="http://archive.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-08/ff_jimgray?currentPage=all">Tenacious</a> are just some of the more high-profile names on a list of lost or capsized vessels which grows by hundreds each year. </p>
<p>Yet it took the disappearance of flight MH370, now declared <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/29/mh370-malaysia-officially-ends-search-for-missing-plane">lost with no survivors</a>, to demonstrate how difficult it can be to find something in the open ocean. As the search continued, incredulity grew: exactly how, in the 21st century, is it possible to lose a 64-metre aircraft? </p>
<p>There are great unknowns at sea: planes and boats go missing. Illegal fishing and piracy are easy to conduct – and small vessels can smuggle powerful weapons and dangerous individuals. The technology to improve this situation already exists, we just need to make better use of it.</p>
<h2>The view from above</h2>
<p>Satellites provide the vantage point necessary to monitor large areas of ocean. Spacecraft carrying <a href="http://www.radartutorial.eu/20.airborne/ab07.en.html">synthetic aperture radar</a> (SAR) can provide high-quality images with resolution down to a metre, regardless of the weather. But the relatively small number of spacecraft equipped with SAR, and the dawn-to-dusk orbits which most occupy, also limit the times of day when they can provide coverage. </p>
<p>To offer comprehensive monitoring at sea, we need to bring together different types of imaging, including radar and photographic images in the human-visible wavelength. This is often overlooked for maritime purposes due to the effects of cloud, rain, and darkness that limit its use. But there are enough satellites with the capability that could provide excellent coverage.</p>
<h2>Detail and coverage</h2>
<p>The two key requirements for effective monitoring are high spatial resolution (good detail) and a large field of view (wide area). One tends to come at the expense of the other, so that a device – whether it is a camera, satellite or radar – capable of detecting small vessels will usually only be able to scan an area a few tens of kilometres wide, making it both unlikely that the search area of interest has been recorded and rendering subsequent searches very slow. </p>
<p>But the situation is changing. The number of imagers is growing rapidly. In our recently published <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01431161.2014.990647#.VNIhm9Ugiiw">study</a>, we identified 54 satellites carrying 85 sensors which offer useful resolution and could be accessed commercially (excluding military surveillance spacecraft). Companies such as <a href="https://www.planet.com">PlanetLabs</a> are in the process of launching many more.</p>
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<p>While each satellite’s imaging device generates an image track only 10-100km across, the motion of the satellite as it orbits the Earth effectively “scans” that track so that the image is narrow in one dimension but circles the world in the other. With orbital periods of around 90 minutes, one satellite makes around 16 passes over the daylit hemisphere every day. The combined imaging work of all these satellites now make a significant contribution to our awareness of maritime traffic.</p>
<h2>Image early, image often</h2>
<p>Imagery used in search-and-rescue operations is usually taken after the target is lost. In the case of the Niña which disappeared off the coast of New Zealand, eight days elapsed between last radio contact and the alarm being raised. For MH370, the search area evolved over periods of weeks. In both cases, ocean currents carry evidence away from the accident site, while debris disperses and sinks, making it more difficult to identify by satellite. </p>
<p>It would be far better to have an archive of recent, regularly updated images so that the recent history of a location over a period of several days can be examined. This could offer evidence of the vessel’s course or state, or pick up on areas of fresh, concentrated debris.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71111/original/image-20150204-28573-i04a4x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Satellite tracks showing coverage worldwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nigel Bannister/University of Leicester</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making the best of what we have</h2>
<p>Satellites with visible wavelength cameras are generally used for gathering images of land. What if satellite operators could generate revenue by taking images of the oceans? The limited resources on satellites mean that it isn’t generally possible to constantly take images, to store that data and transmit it all in the next available contact with the ground (which may be some time after an image is acquired). As it is, it’s not possible to create a global maritime monitoring system of this kind without purpose-built spacecraft with bigger data storage and more frequent contact with ground stations to download it.</p>
<p>But it is possible to monitor high-priority areas of heavy traffic, protected fisheries and security-critical regions, with co-operation between operators of existing spacecraft (for which there are precedents such as George Clooney’s <a href="http://www.satsentinel.org/">Satellite Sentinel Project</a>, which uses satellites to gather evidence of atrocities and war crimes), and incentives, perhaps involving maritime insurance companies. </p>
<p>Retrieving hundreds of gigabytes of data a day from satellites requires a new approach to ground stations. One solution may be to “crowdsource”: to create a network of stations operated by small institutions, universities and individuals to spread the burden of downloading data and increasing the periods during which data can be recorded and transmitted.</p>
<p>There are groups working on automated vessel-detection algorithms – and crowdsourcing also has a role here, such as <a href="http://www.tomnod.com/">TomNod</a>, for example, which asked members of the public to help inspect images online in the search for Niña. How much more effective could search and rescue be if the power of crowdsourcing was applied to each stage of data acquisition, storage and processing, combined with high-quality images taken around the time the vessel was lost?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nigel Bannister works for the University of Leicester. He received funding from US Office of Naval Research - Global to conduct this work.</span></em></p>The seas are vast. And they claim vessels in significant numbers. The yachts Cheeki Rafiki, Niña, Munetra, Tenacious are just some of the more high-profile names on a list of lost or capsized vessels which…Nigel Bannister, Senior Lecturer in Astronomy, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/342342014-11-19T04:13:20Z2014-11-19T04:13:20ZRobots in the skies: how Outback Joe was found and rescued<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64764/original/q5px4byz-1416262078.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If you get lost in the bush, you might be found by a flying robot, such as this one.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.uavchallenge.csiro.au/galleries/2014/index.html">UAV Challenge</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lost and thirsty in the Australian bush, Outback Joe waited eight years. And finally, in September this year, he was found – by a flying robot.</p>
<p>Outback Joe is not a real person, but for a week each September over six of the past eight years, he lay in a field waiting to be found. A stuffed dummy in a high-visibility shirt and Akubra hat, Outback Joe was the target of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Challenge <a href="http://www.uavoutbackchallenge.com.au/">Outback Rescue</a>, an international robotics competition.</p>
<p>Outback Joe has a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/outback.joe.37">Facebook page</a>. He’s on <a href="https://twitter.com/Outback_Joe">Twitter</a>. He likes to go for walks in the country, but sometimes he gets lost. Joe could be you.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64560/original/2zk8ysb6-1415940674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Outback Joe is lost and has collapsed in a peanut field. He needs to be found, and desperately needs water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stefan Hrabar/CSIRO/UAV Challenge</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Stories in the media about people getting lost are unfortunately common. Some are lost adventurers, but most are not. Typically, it’s the very young who wander off, the elderly who get confused, or the inexperienced, who don’t appreciate just how easily they can lose track of where they are. </p>
<p>Searching for the lost is a race against time. We have all seen in the media <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/missing-bushwalkers-found-in-blue-mountains-20141110-11jl80.html">great successes</a> when the lost are found, but also the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10281239/Body-found-after-British-man-went-missing-in-Australian-bush-six-weeks-ago.html">tragedies</a> when time runs out.</p>
<p>For many years, searching from the air has been a valuable tool, and is required in certain situations. But the opportunity to undertake an aerial search is sometimes limited due to a lack of availability of aircraft or pilots, or practical restrictions such as poor weather.</p>
<p>As technological capabilities continue to develop, search and rescue organisations around the world are keen to use robotic aircraft to help find lost people. Known as remotely piloted aircraft in official circles (and more commonly as <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/drones">drones</a>), these aircraft are usually small, cheap to buy – especially compared to traditional aircraft – and somewhat expendable, as there are no people onboard.</p>
<p>And that’s where we came in.</p>
<h2>Lost and found (eight years later)</h2>
<p>A group of organisations in Australia launched the UAV Challenge Search and Rescue Competition in 2006, offering a A$50,000 prize for the first team in the world to find and rescue our lost bushwalker, Outback Joe. We specifically developed the competition to guide teams to create low-cost solutions that, one day, could be used for real search and rescue missions.</p>
<p>The Challenge required each team to launch their robotic aircraft from Kingaroy Airport, in rural Queensland, and head out to a large search area approximately four kilometres away. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64555/original/3q4fzbtf-1415940659.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A robot aircraft returning from a successful mission to rescue Outback Joe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stefan Hrabar/CSIRO/UAV Challenge</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The aircraft had to cover the search area, locate Joe and drop him a 500 millilitre water bottle, ensuring it landed within 100 metres of his position. The aircraft typically flew for up to an hour, and covered between 50 and 100 kilometres of ground during the search.</p>
<p>The UAV Challenge was a true challenge – it wasn’t something that would be completed overnight. In fact, it was a rescue mission that kept 350 teams and more than 2,000 team members busy for eight years. </p>
<p>Some teams came close as time went by, but it wasn’t until 2014 that a team of passionate enthusiasts from Canberra finally <a href="http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/canberrauav-outback-challenge-2014-debrief">won the grand prize</a>. Three other teams also completed the Challenge successfully this year.</p>
<p>The secret to the winning entry was their accuracy of the water bottle drop. The aircraft automatically flew a special pattern around Outback Joe’s location to estimate the wind direction. The on-board computer then calculated the best flight path over Joe taking into account the wind. The result was spectacular, with the water bottle landing just 2.6 metres from Joe.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64559/original/9nc7n9t6-1415940668.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The moment just before CanberraUAV dropped a water bottle on a parachute to Outback Joe. Outback Joe is in the blue rectangle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CanberraUAV</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So did the UAV Challenge do its job and drive down the cost of producing highly capable robot aircraft for search and rescue and inspire innovation in the field? Happily, I think the answer is yes.</p>
<p>The teams that successfully completed the mission did so using specifically designed electronics and new autopilot technologies (which, incidentally, were inspired by the UAV Challenge itself). </p>
<p>One <a href="http://store.rfdesign.com.au/rfd-900-modem/">radio communications device</a> developed by a Brisbane-based company has now sold several thousand units worldwide. Another company, based in Adelaide, developed <a href="http://www.millswoodeng.com.au/failsafe_ftd.html">a safety system</a> for teams that has been commercially successful around the world. </p>
<p>The open source software movement embraced the UAV Challenge, seeing three of the most widely used low-cost autopilot developers enter the event. In 2014 alone, software for two of these auto-pilots has been <a href="https://www.dronecode.org/about/infographic">downloaded</a> more than 170,000 times by users across the globe. Flying robots with an automatic search ability could assist Australian State Emergency Services to make rescues more efficient. </p>
<p>The dream of search and rescue organisations is that in the near future they will be able to have small fleets of robot aircraft, each costing no more than a few hundred dollars, stored and waiting for the day they can be used to save a life. </p>
<p>We know this will be possible, in time. The UAV Challenge has demonstrated that – and Outback Joe lives to tell the tale of that time he got lost in the bush.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Roberts is a co-founder of the UAV Challenge Outback Rescue.</span></em></p>Lost and thirsty in the Australian bush, Outback Joe waited eight years. And finally, in September this year, he was found – by a flying robot. Outback Joe is not a real person, but for a week each September…Jonathan Roberts, Professor in Robotics, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/273832014-06-19T04:31:00Z2014-06-19T04:31:00ZMH370 cost sharing agreement a chance to avoid future mistakes<p>More than 100 days on from the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the search for the plane continues at a mounting cost for all involved, including the Australian government.</p>
<p>Last month senior ministers from Malaysia, China and Australia <a href="http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/wt/releases/2014/may/wt065_2014.aspx">met</a> in Canberra and <a href="http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/wt/releases/2014/may/wt065_2014.aspx">confirmed</a> that the MH370 search would be a “continuous” one, and that it would now be focused on an intensive search “of the ocean floor over a larger area”.</p>
<p>To cover the costs of the ongoing search, the Commonwealth budget makes <a href="http://www.afr.com/p/national/soft_diplomacy_spurs_search_for_6R9lArSsXp7qaZdKtPgpTK">provision</a> for funding of almost A$90 million to the end of the next financial year. The Commonwealth has also <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-30/mh370-search-could-take-several-years-expert-says/5490172">put aside</a> A$60 million for a private contractor to search an area of the Indian Ocean seabed covering 60,000 square kilometres. </p>
<p>The key states in the search for MH370 are Australia, Malaysia and China – Australia because it is the only state proximate to the area in which MH370 is presumed to have ditched (the southern Indian Ocean). Australia is, as a practical matter, the state best equipped to take the lead and conduct the search.</p>
<p>Malaysia is key, of course, because MH370 was operated by Malaysia Airlines and is its state of registration. Malaysia is also responsible for the crash investigation.</p>
<p>China is important because a majority (153) of those <a href="http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/content/dam/mas/master/en/pdf/Malaysia%20Airlines%20Flight%20MH%20370%20Passenger%20Manifest_Nationality.pdf">passengers</a> on board MH370 (a total of 227, together with 12 crew members) were Chinese; Beijing was MH370’s destination. MH370 also operated as a codeshare flight with <a href="http://www.csair.com/en/">China Southern Airlines</a>.</p>
<h2>Aviation is known for cooperation</h2>
<p>If it wasn’t for international agreements, air travel simply wouldn’t work.</p>
<p>Beginning with the <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.1929/doc.html">Warsaw Convention</a> of 1929, and ending with the 1999 <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.unification.convention.montreal.1999/">Montreal Convention</a>, a series of treaties deal with liability for passenger injury or death on board an international flight. These are very successful treaties. Montreal, for example, has to date <a href="http://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf">107 state parties</a>, and the number increases each year.</p>
<p>Aviation is the most collaborative of industries. States and carriers cooperate and work together, and such cooperation is largely treaty-based. But despite this cooperation, no treaty precisely provides for the search of aircraft in the MH370 context, or for costs associated with such a search.</p>
<h2>A chance to forge a new agreement</h2>
<p>Last month’s Canberra meeting concluded with <a href="http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/wt/releases/2014/may/wt065_2014.aspx">steps</a> towards a new agreement between Australia and Malaysia which would include provisions regarding search costs and the financial responsibilities of the parties in that regard. </p>
<p>This is an opportunity to set out a template for future aviation search cooperation for recovery operations in non-territorial ocean waters. No such template exists, and there are advantages to having one – efficiency, effectiveness, and the provision of comfort to next of kin, for example.</p>
<p>Such an international agreement could perhaps include the following outline provisions:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The state most proximate to the area in which an aircraft is lost would control the search and rescue operation and would immediately fund that operation;</p></li>
<li><p>the state of registration/owners of the aircraft would be granted special status and consulted regarding the particulars of the search and rescue operation;</p></li>
<li><p>all states with nationals on board the aircraft would be apprised of the parameters of the search on an ongoing basis, and would be invited to (send representatives to) monitor that search;</p></li>
<li><p>reimbursement of costs incurred by the state controlling the search and rescue operation would be made at periodic intervals during the search (if lengthy) or at its conclusion, with 50% of the costs borne equally by the state controlling the search and rescue operation and the state of registration/aircraft owners, and with the remaining costs borne by states in proportion to the passengers on board;</p></li>
<li><p>if it is determined that a state cannot afford its apportioned costs, those costs would be assumed by other states on the above basis; and</p></li>
<li><p>the state most proximate to the area in which an aircraft is lost, in consultation with the state of registration/aircraft owner(s), would determine when the search concludes.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Such an agreement in the case of MH370 – and in future cases – might perhaps afford a measure of certainty to relatives and friends of passengers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than 100 days on from the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the search for the plane continues at a mounting cost for all involved, including the Australian government. Last month senior…David Hodgkinson, Associate Professor, Law School, The University of Western AustraliaRebecca Johnston, Adjunct Lecturer, Law School, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/274192014-06-01T20:46:06Z2014-06-01T20:46:06ZResources and training are crucial as search for Gareth Huntley steps up in Malaysia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49919/original/9vtb6cvc-1401645713.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C568%2C350&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Paradise lost.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">#findgareth</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The story <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27654676">about missing Briton</a> Gareth Huntley, who has disappeared on the Malaysian island of Tioman, has generated considerable interest in his home country, and also a certain amount of opprobrium for the Malaysian authorities <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/05/31/gareth-huntley-appeal-london-missing-malaysia-jungle_n_5422306.html">because of the delay</a> between his disappearance and the beginning of full searches. </p>
<p>Clearly this is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gareth-huntley-search-stepped-up-as-family-fear-time-is-running-out-for-missing-briton-9468029.html">an emotive case</a> and it can be easy to conflate a lack of success with a lack of effort – but from my experience in the world of search and rescue, there are some factors that are likely to be relevant here. </p>
<p>There are a number of key principles, in all environments, that increase the someone’s chances of survival and time is widely regarded as the most critical. People can and do survive for extraordinary lengths of time in extremely hostile environments – see the recent case of Jose Salvador Alvarenga, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/04/castaway-story-backing-from-mexican">who was found alive</a> after 13 months at sea. But the longer someone is lost for, the less likely it becomes to find them alive. </p>
<p>The second principle of search and rescue is a structured and defensible strategy for locating the target. At sea these take the form of geometric patterns that sweep an area of water, with slightly overlapping search legs to maximise the ground covered, while ensuring there are no “gaps” in the searched area. The recent search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was a good example of this. The images and maps released by the Australian government show the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-british-firm-inmarsat-breaks-new-ground-in-search-for-plane-9213137.html">structured search patterns</a> employed by the aircraft and vessels.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49920/original/5bnyjfsk-1401647348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hard to penetrate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tioman_island.jpg">Fuzheado</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Huntley’s case a variation of these techniques would be used. It is impractical for search teams to walk through thickly forested areas in a structured line (despite what you may have seen on TV detective shows), so most teams would employ a form of scenario-based planning – drawing up a list of likely “stories” of what could have happened to the missing person. The quality and quantity <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/324966980994013/permalink/326397144184330/">of intelligence</a> that the search team has is critical in this case. </p>
<p>Knowing the intended destination of the target is quite rare – in Huntley’s case he is believed to have been walking to a waterfall some 6km into the forest – but an extremely useful factor. And of course any locating technology: phones, locator beacons – whistles even – will help to take the search out of search and rescue, and shift the emphasis of the mission into a “rescue” phase.</p>
<p>Having then drawn up a list of scenarios, for example if they took a wrong turning at a specific location, or were injured along a specific route, teams are sent out to search these locations, usually with a set of parameters specific to the case. These will often be drawn from statistical analysis of previous cases and will include concepts such as the “track offset”, or how far from a formal path or track a particular kind of target is likely to be. </p>
<p>Thick jungle undergrowth is hard to penetrate and it’s difficult to detect a lost person far from formal tracks – but it also becomes more unlikely that a lost person would expend the energy to force their way through it too. </p>
<p>In terms of equipment for general terrain, there is very little that a search team would need other than a good torch for night work. The major requirement is for them to be sustainable, safe and comfortable during the search; protective equipment, food and water being the obvious requirements. If the search is to be carried out in more extreme terrain – searching down ravines, in caves or down cliffs then clearly equipment will be required. </p>
<p>For jungle terrain, the most important resourcs is trained searchers. <a href="http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/nsarc/LandSweepWidthDemoReportFinal.pdf">Research from the US</a> demonstrated that searchers who are taught how to move through a search corridor, and systematically search around them, are far more likely to be successful than untrained searchers – so local volunteers, military or police personnel drafted in, even in large numbers, may not be as effective as a smaller, more focused team of trained personnel. </p>
<p>Search dogs are another option, and they can be extremely effective. Research I completed at Kingston University London suggests dogs can be more than 80% successful in locating human targets in dense woodland. But well-trained search dogs are a scarce resource.</p>
<p>Even with limited intelligence, searches can still be carried out and to great effect. It is perfectly feasible that with a large number of trained searchers even very thick jungle terrain could be searched effectively. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49918/original/vmwf53zn-1401645477.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New teams head out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Polis Pahang Facebook</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s unclear what resources the authorities in Malaysia have (or what they are capable of deploying), but they have certainly stepped up their search, with reports of <a href="https://twitter.com/TravelMush/status/473098815709278208/photo/1">at least one helicopter</a> and more police manpower. This comes at a crucial time – the longer Huntley remains unfound, sadly, the more his chances of survival diminish. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The editor who commissioned this article is a friend of Gareth Huntley.</span></em></p>The story about missing Briton Gareth Huntley, who has disappeared on the Malaysian island of Tioman, has generated considerable interest in his home country, and also a certain amount of opprobrium for…Ian Greatbatch, Senior Lecturer, Kingston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/269932014-05-20T13:23:47Z2014-05-20T13:23:47ZUS Coastguard resumes search for missing yachtsmen but chances of rescue slim<p>The US Coastguard has said it <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2014-05-20/us-coastguard-to-resume-search-within-the-hour/">will resume a search and rescue operation</a> within the hour for the four missing British yachtsmen who got into difficulties 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod in their boat, the Cheeki Rafiki, on Friday. The coastguard had <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27486648">called off the search</a> for Paul Goslin, 56; Andrew Bridge, 22; Steve Warren, 52; and James Male, 23, after a spokesman said the men could only have <a href="http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2165286/Statement-from-U-S-Coast-Guard-regarding-Cheeki-Rafiki-suspension">survived for about 20 hours</a> after the “time of distress”. A family and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/may/20/missing-yachtsmen-petition-calls-us-restart-search-cheeki-rafiki">public petition</a>, however, said they could still be found alive.</p>
<p>We are getting more pieces of the jigsaw but in these cases you never have the complete picture of what happened and the conflicting reports from numerous sources make it even more difficult. When working out the chances of survival, our role is to look at the facts, examine the best and worst case scenarios, estimate what has happened and advise accordingly.</p>
<p>Yesterday I spoke with the US Coastguard and I understand that the yacht’s Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was not triggered, nor does it appear to have been transferred to the life raft, which suggests that the vessel was abandoned as an emergency, not in a controlled manner and the life raft was perhaps not launched. The coastguard’s information also suggested that two of the crew’s personal locator beacons – which have to be activated manually – were activated at the same time, not separately as has been suggested. This changes the picture significantly.</p>
<p>The US Coastguard and Canadian Coastguard employ sophisticated search modelling systems such as Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System, <a href="http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/international/sarops.asp">or Sarops</a>, which use data such as last known location, wind speed and ocean currents, to work out where and object might be or have drifted. It is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/magazine/a-speck-in-the-sea.html?_r=0">by no means a guarantee</a> but since the US Coastguard had a good data point from which to start, one would expect them to find a raft if it were possible, even if weather conditions were not conducive to surveillance. </p>
<p>The crew were sailing back from a regatta in Antigua when the boat began taking on water and diverted to the Azores. If they made it into the life raft they would have had the best possible chance of survival, although the conditions were far from favourable even for survival in a life raft.</p>
<p>If they were in the water of the Atlantic Ocean, we would be talking about hours rather than days. The sea conditions would have been around 13-16 degrees Celsius and the wind speeds at the time of the accident were around 30-40 knots with six metre waves. In calm conditions, we would anticipate survival times in the water of about six hours but the prevailing conditions were not ideal so it might be less than this. </p>
<p>US Coastguard rescue teams <a href="http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2165286/Statement-from-U-S-Coast-Guard-regarding-Cheeki-Rafiki-suspension">searched for 53 hours</a> before calling off the search on Sunday. The UK Coastguard said its counterparts did all they could. But the search is now back on.</p>
<p>Even though we employ all our scientific knowledge in these cases, search and rescue remains more of an art than a science. It is my sincere wish that these young men <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/magazine/a-speck-in-the-sea.html?_r=0">have beaten the odds</a> but my experience suggests that hope is, sadly, running out.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Tipton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US Coastguard has said it will resume a search and rescue operation within the hour for the four missing British yachtsmen who got into difficulties 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod in their boat…Mike Tipton, Professor of human and applied Physiology, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/260502014-04-29T05:47:24Z2014-04-29T05:47:24ZWho will bear the $60m cost of the search for MH370?<p>As the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines MH370 moves into a different phase, a new, delicate issue arises: who will pay? </p>
<p>On Monday, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/27/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/">acknowledged</a> that “thus far none of our efforts in the air, on the surface or under sea, have found any wreckage" of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27184295">The new phase</a> will now focus on a much larger area of the ocean floor <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27184295">rather than the surface</a>, and involve commercial contractors utilising additional sonar mapping equipment, with <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/28/air-search-flight-mh370-called">an estimated cost of A$60 million</a>. </p>
<p>The Australian government will seek <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-new-search-area-announced-9294890.html">contributions</a> from other countries to meet that cost.</p>
<p>However, Australian Defence Minister David Johnston has <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27122614">said</a> that, while there are "some issues of costs” associated with the expanded search:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We want to say to our friends in Malaysia and China this is not about cost, we are concerned to be seen to be helping them in a most tragic circumstance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no legal requirement for other countries or companies to contribute towards the cost of the search and rescue effort. It may be, however, if and when the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of MH370 become clearer, states such as Australia look to other states (Malaysia most obviously) or entities (manufacturers, for example) for contributions to the cost of the massive search and rescue effort.</p>
<p>In working out which countries have responsibility for search and rescue with regard to MH370, it is useful to examine a range of international treaties that might determine such responsibility in a similar way to that which determines <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-malaysia-airlines-be-liable-for-compensation-for-mh370-25332">liability</a> for passenger injury or death on board an international flight.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.icao.int/publications/pages/doc7300.aspx">The Convention on International Civil Aviation 1944</a> (the Chicago Convention) is one of the world’s most successful treaties. To date it has 191 states signed on, and it sets out principles and arrangements such that international civil aviation can “be developed [and proceed] in a safe and orderly manner”.</p>
<p>Article 25 of Chicago <a href="http://www.icao.int/publications/pages/doc7300.aspx">says</a> parties to the treaty must collaborate on “coordinated measures” in the search for missing aircraft, but is silent on the allocation of costs.</p>
<p>What of other potentially relevant treaties? The <a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/Terrorism/Conv1-english.pdf">1963 Tokyo Convention</a> determines jurisdiction over offences committed on board aircraft while that aircraft is in flight or on the surface of the high seas or of any other area outside the territory of any country. </p>
<p>It also defines the rights and obligations of the aircraft commander with regard to offences and acts committed on board which jeopardise the safety of the aircraft. It also defines the rights and obligations of the authorities of the place where the aircraft lands after such an offence or act has been committed. It is however, of limited use in determining burden sharing in the context of MH370. </p>
<p><a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/Terrorism/Conv2-english.pdf">The 1970 Hague Convention</a> was the result of concerted action on the part of states to combat an increase in hijacking in the late 1960s. As opposed to the Tokyo Convention, it deals more specifically with the offence of hijacking. The Hague Convention seeks to eliminate, to the extent possible, refuge for hijackers. But again, like the Tokyo Convention, it is of limited use for present purposes.</p>
<p>A 1971 treaty – the <a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/Terrorism/Conv3-english.pdf">Montreal Convention</a> – complements the Tokyo and Hague conventions by covering matters not dealt with in those conventions, such as acts of sabotage and unlawful acts against the safety of civil aviation. It extends the range of offences against the safety of civil aviation to cover acts likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft in service (in addition to in flight). </p>
<p>It does not, however, contemplate how costs are apportioned when it comes to search and rescue efforts.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/fruitless-search-for-mh370-will-scour-larger-area-of-ocean-floor-says-tony-abbott-20140428-zr0sb.html">According</a> to Abbott, Australia “will do everything we humanly can … to solve this mystery”. </p>
<p>And while international agreements are silent regarding either who conducts or bears the cost of international search and rescue in circumstances like those of MH370, state parties will for the moment bear their own costs. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines MH370 moves into a different phase, a new, delicate issue arises: who will pay? On Monday, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott acknowledged that “thus…David Hodgkinson, Associate Professor, Law School, The University of Western AustraliaRebecca Johnston, Sessional Lecturer, Law School, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/249132014-03-27T14:25:29Z2014-03-27T14:25:29ZHow statistics can help in the mission to find MH370<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44931/original/ns2sjtr7-1395929988.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Maths can help in the hunt for MH370.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Australian Department of Defence</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>That the Malaysian government, with the help of the UK’s INMARSAT, was able to dramatically narrow down the search area for flight MH370, made it seem much more likely that the wreckage of the plane might be found.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, we’re not there yet and we need to be smart about the techniques we use in this latest stage of the operation. </p>
<p>It is reassuring to see Chinese, Australian and US teams all working together with a common goal but it is quite apparent that they are struggling to solve what is actually a very tough problem. </p>
<p>It’s tough because of the physical distances involved: the search area is some 2,000km south-east of Perth in an area of the Indian Ocean that is being described as <a href="http://www.wapt.com/national/Ocean-search-has-many-challenges/25106926">one of the most inaccessible places on Earth</a>.</p>
<p>That means planes and ships can only spend a few hours searching at a time so we need to be clever about how we deploy them. That’s where a British man called Thomas Bayes comes in. He was born in London in 1701 and developed the maths that now underpins state-of-the-art technology in retail, insurance and, crucially in this case, search and rescue. </p>
<p>The key idea to come out of Bayes’ thinking is that you can calculate probabilities as a way of quantifying what you believe. In the case of MH370, it’s a bit like throwing dust particles wide across the search area. Each particle represents a candidate place where the plane might be. As your search planes and ships move around the area, they hoover up the particles, eliminating candidate places that still need to be looked at.</p>
<p>The process is complicated by sea currents and that the fact that the sensors being used are imperfect. As a result, the “hoovers” aren’t perfect at sucking the moving dust up and some of the dust is left behind. You have to coordinate your search and continually return to areas you’ve already searched because you might look back and think you must have missed something when you searched that spot the first time.</p>
<p>The technology that makes use of this thinking divides the area of interest into a grid and associates a probability that the object is in each of its cells.</p>
<p>Given the location of each search ship or plane, we identify some grid-cells which are visible from that ship or plane. We then use the probability that we would see the object being searched for, if it were there, to manipulate the probability that the object is in each of these visible grid cells.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we typically don’t see the object, that’s why we’re looking for it. So, we actually use this negative information to reduce the probabilities. We repeat this process for updating the probability map as the ships and planes move so that the probability is gradually “hoovered” up.</p>
<p>To decide where to send the ships and planes, we consider lots of candidate trajectories for each ship and plane and then pick the combination that would hoover up the largest fraction of the remaining probability. We repeat the process of specifying the trajectories until we find the object we are looking for. We can do something similar when looking for multiple objects; it’s just the maths gets a bit more involved.</p>
<h2>Proven track record</h2>
<p>Metron, a US company that helped develop the the US Coast Guard’s <a href="http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/SARfactsInfo/SAROPSInforSheet.pdf">Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System</a>, used technology that builds on this idea to find Air France flight AF447 when it crashed into the <a href="http://www.airfrance447.com/">Atlantic Ocean in 2009</a>, the <a href="http://www.metsci.com/Division/Advanced-Mathematics-Applications/SS-Central-America">SS Central America</a>, a ship that sank in a hurricane in 1857, with gold bars and coins worth an estimated US$400 million dollars, and the <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-s/ssn589-k.htm">USS Scorpion</a>, a nuclear submarine lost at sea in 1968. </p>
<p>Related technology was also used to analyse the historic reports from German survivors to find the <a href="http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/sydney/history-hmas-sydney-ii/battle-hsk-kormoran">HMAS Sydney II and HSK Kormoran</a>, two ships that sank after a firefight in 1941 just off the Western coast of Australia – not so far from where planes are currently flying from to try to find MH370.</p>
<h2>Nothing beats hindsight</h2>
<p>Even when using this technology, you are perfectly justified in changing your mind if you get better information from satellite data but it also helps to defend search teams from criticism over making decisions that turn out to be wrong. During operations like this, decisions often have to be based on incomplete information. You therefore sometimes find that you’ve made the wrong decision because you didn’t have a key piece of information when making it.</p>
<p>As an example, if the interested nations had visited all the suspected weapons sites in Iraq and found that weapons of mass destruction weren’t being manufactured at the time, they might have made a different decision about whether or not to invade the country. </p>
<p>In this case and in the case of the search for MH370, all the information you need just isn’t available when you make a decision and what you decide to do is not the same as what you would decide in hindsight.</p>
<p>Difficult decisions are, by definition, difficult. We should be prepared to praise the people who make difficult decisions based on incomplete information, not just criticise them when it later turns out that their decision was retrospectively “wrong”.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there’s always a fundamental question as to whether the thing you are looking for is actually there at all. It seems quite possible that any wreckage from the flight has now sunk to the bottom of the very deep ocean.</p>
<p>But until we know that for sure, the hunt continues and the technology exists to help those looking for MH370 to make best use of the information that exists as well as the ships and planes that are involved in the search. I believe that this technology will play a central role in a future news headline that the world is hoping to read soon: “MH370 has been found”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Maskell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>That the Malaysian government, with the help of the UK’s INMARSAT, was able to dramatically narrow down the search area for flight MH370, made it seem much more likely that the wreckage of the plane might…Simon Maskell, Professor of Autonomous Systems, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/246582014-03-21T03:14:10Z2014-03-21T03:14:10ZThe law of the sea and commercial ships in the search for MH370<p>The first ship to reach the area of Indian ocean being searched for the missing flight MH370 is the Norwegian commercial car carrier, the Höegh St Petersburg.</p>
<p>At the request of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the ship diverted its voyage from Mauritius to Melbourne and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/20/malaysia-airlines-norway-idUSL6N0MH2MD20140320">searched</a> for debris with spotlights overnight.</p>
<p>Customary international law has long recognised that all mariners have a duty to come to the assistance of individuals in distress on the sea. </p>
<p>While the duty is not absolute - in the sense an individual is not required to risk their own life - maritime law outlines there is a “positive requirement” where possible to provide assistance.</p>
<p>This customary international law duty is reflected in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea which states in part: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every State shall require the master of a ship flying its flag, in so far as he can do so without serious danger to the ship, the crew or the passengers:</p>
<p>a) to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost;</p>
<p>b) to proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in distress, if informed of their need of assistance, in so far as such action may reasonably be expected of him.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The seriousness with which this provision is viewed by the international community is underscored by Article 18(2) of the Law of the Sea Convention. Rendering assistance to those in distress constitutes an exception to the regime of “innocent passage” - the part of the law that allows a vessel to pass through the territorial waters of another state. As states are usually reluctant to accept any conditions that might impact on the sovereignty of their territorial waters, the clear acceptance of this one demonstrates the importance of this duty. </p>
<p>While the law clearly refers to a duty of ships to render assistance to individuals in distress at sea, there is a range of other international legal conventions that clarify the obligation further and support the requirement that countries cooperate with each other.</p>
<p>In this case, the relevant convention is the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (ICMSR), under which states assume coordination of search and rescue for areas of ocean adjacent to their territory. This does not mean that only that state has responsibility to rescue, but rather that it will typically act to coordinate search and rescue activities. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Parties shall ensure that assistance be provided to any person in distress at sea. They shall do so regardless of the nationality or status of such a person or the circumstances in which that person is found.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44430/original/6ksjr9nx-1395364954.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Commercial vessels are legally obligated to render assistance at sea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/92269745@N00/5941661232/in/photolist-a43yT3-9NEwpU-9PDCBE-7Qavqr-fb2KiD-f5pXH4-7LGJDh-8ZSk8J-fdiMSG-aWVNTF-9CtApB-ddWZXR-9g59bX-a7d4JX-fng3u7-bW7bae-kxGwuo-8UDSLs-igcbgX-8cRUAh-9aeANL-8UAP1e-eexnjW-cXjCSq-bG9ypv-cC9sfW-9NFVNX-9NH11D-b4xhhD-8UQ93j-9M2DZZ-9NGokq-9NvgtE-dkBZCQ-dkD3H4-dkrRK7-dkrRKu-dkrRKU-dkrRLu-dksVMv-dkCLGZ-dkBZA5-dkrRLY-dkrErH-dkBZDN-dksVK6-dksVLr-9NEtYQ-9NGKrb-9NGYu8-hxyJ7n">Ralph Daily/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thanks to Australia’s relative remoteness, large tracts of the Indian and Southern oceans fall under its <a href="http://www.neptune-scuba.info/sarmap-en.html">responsibility</a> to coordinate search and rescue operations.</p>
<p>In the case of missing MH370, countries will treat the disappearance of the vessel as a search and rescue mission until circumstances change. </p>
<p>As Australia has taken responsibility for search and rescue coordination, this allows AMSA to request other participating states to work with it, as well as to request nearby vessels, such as the Höegh St Petersburg, to assist. </p>
<p>While the Norwegian vessel is not strictly under Australian control, Norway as the vessel’s flag state, and as a party to both the Law of the Sea Convention and the ICMSR, could compel the vessel’s compliance, if Australia requests it. Failure to comply could see the vessel’s master prosecuted under Norwegian law. </p>
<p>In reality, prosecuting the master of a commercial vessel would be exceedingly rare. Most seafarers take their duty to render assistance at sea very seriously, and there is no reason to believe there has been anything other than the fullest cooperation from all vessels and aircraft involved in the search. </p>
<p>In the present circumstances, given the length of time that has elapsed since the aircraft was lost, it’s likely that the Höegh St Petersburg be released from the search when HMAS Success comes on station and is able to search the area of interest.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24658/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Kaye receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The first ship to reach the area of Indian ocean being searched for the missing flight MH370 is the Norwegian commercial car carrier, the Höegh St Petersburg. At the request of the Australian Maritime…Stuart Kaye, Professor of Law, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.