A.I.-Enabled Drones are the Future of Disaster Rescue

When responding to a natural disaster, lives are on the line and every second counts. Emergency rescuers often face the challenges of assessing vast swaths of destruction and chaos with minimal real-time intelligence to guide them. Searching for survivors in rising floodwaters or the chaotic ruins of an earthquake takes days, as workers must assess which roads and bridges are accessible and attempt to navigate through hazardous, unknown environments. The Aerospace Corporation aims to give rescue crews intelligent eyes in the sky. A team of engineers and scientists are designing unmanned aerial drones that can fly into damaged areas, visually identify survivors and relay that data back to first responders.