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Articles on Search and Rescue

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Limbless robots may not need lots of complex algorithms when they have mechanical intelligence. Tianyu Wang

We designed wormlike, limbless robots that navigate obstacle courses − they could be used for search and rescue one day

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.
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. (Shutterstock)

Titanic submersible ‘catastrophic implosion’: questions remain about the costs and ethics of rescuing tourist expeditions

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.
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. (Shutterstock)

How to prevent missing person incidents for seniors living with dementia

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.
A boat carrying migrants was stranded off the coast of Morocco before it was rescued by a Spanish ship in September 2018. Marco Moreno/AFP via Getty Images

A court case against migrant activists in Italy offers a reminder – not all refugees are welcome in Europe

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.
The compact olfactory system provides a more accessible way to study the brain as a whole. Esther Kok/EyeEm via Getty Images

From odor to action – how smells are processed in the brain and influence behavior

Understanding how the brain translates smells into behavior change can help advance search and rescue technology and treatments for neurological conditions.
A drone flies above search and rescue personnel at the site of the Champlain Towers South Condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

An expert on search and rescue robots explains the technologies used in disasters like the Florida condo collapse

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.
Seeing through walls has long been a staple of comics and science fiction. Something like it could soon be a reality. Paul Gilligan/Photodisc via Getty Images

Fast computers, 5G networks and radar that passes through walls are bringing ‘X-ray vision’ closer to reality

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.
A Westpac Little Ripper drone helped rescue two teens off the coast of Australia by dropping a flotation device to them. Westpac Little Ripper

Robots to the rescue: Saving lives with unmanned vehicles

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.
If you get lost in the bush, you might be found by a flying robot, such as this one. UAV Challenge

Robots in the skies: how Outback Joe was found and rescued

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…
With clear international agreements families of passengers lost to air disasters could be granted some certainty. Azhar Rahim/EPA/AAP

MH370 cost sharing agreement a chance to avoid future mistakes

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…

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