This document describes an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for searching and rescuing persons who have fallen overboard from ships. The system uses multiple UAVs equipped with sensors that are launched from ships to search large areas more quickly and effectively than surface vessels. An autonomous mission management system divides the search area among the UAVs and coordinates their search patterns. When a person is located, the UAVs alert rescuers and can deploy survival gear to the victim until rescuers arrive. The goal is to improve detection and rescue success rates compared to current methods.

1. UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE SYSTEM FOR MAN
OVERBOARD SEARCH AND RESCUE
1. INVENTOR INFORMATION
Name: Patricio Feder
Citizenship: Argentine
Residence: XX XXXXX X XXXX XX XXX
XXX XXXXX XXXXXX XX XXX
2. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a system comprising
one or more unmanned aerial vehicles for the
purpose of searching for persons who have
fallen overboard from maritime vessels (or
similar situations) and aiding in their rescue.
3. BACKGROUND OF THE
INVENTION
Current methods for searching for and
rescuing persons who fall overboard from
maritime vessels (or similar situations; i.e.
falling off offshore oil rigs, low-flying aircraft
or helicopters, etc) are often ineffective at
locating the overboard person within a
sufficiently short period of time to allow for a
successful rescue attempt to be made. Indeed,
many people who fall overboard are never
found, or only located after a long period of
time has elapsed, decreasing the chances of
survival. Adverse weather conditions during
the search and rescue effort further decreases
the probability of a successful rescue.
Currently, these rescue efforts may involve
manned, surface-based vessels (i.e. the main
vessel itself and perhaps any additional small
boats that can be deployed by the main vessel),
or sometimes manned aircraft. However,
surface-based vessels have limited line-of
sight capability to detect the overboard person,
especially in adverse weather conditions.
Manned aircraft, while being able to search
more effectively, are costly to deploy and are
often not immediately available at the time the
victim falls overboard. Lastly and most
importantly, detection methods still rely on
human visual identification and interpretation,
regardless of any visual aids or sensors utilized
(i.e. infrared cameras). As a result, the victim
may not be detected, even when the rescue
vehicles are in close proximity, due to human
error or inattentiveness. In addition to the
obvious potential for loss of human life in
these rescue situations, an unsuccessful and/or
lengthy search and rescue process can lead to
significant loss of revenue, schedule delays,
and other undesirable outcomes for the vessel
operator. Therefore, there is a clear need to
improve the search and rescue process to both
increase the overall probability of a successful
rescue, and to decrease the expected amount of
time and money needed to carry out the rescue
operation.
4. SUMMARY OF THE
INVENTION
The present invention aims to achieve the
stated goals of improving the man overboard
search and rescue process by utilizing one or
more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with
integrated sensors, software, and
communications abilities to aid the human
rescuers. Compared with surface-based vessels
used to conduct search and rescue operations,
UAVs provide superior mobility (due to their
higher speeds compared to surface-based
vessels) and observability (due to being able to
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2. fly above the surface and cover more area in
any given period of time compared to
surface-based vessels), thus enabling the
desired goals to be accomplished.
Furthermore, by using multiple UAVs, the
effective rate of searching can be increased.
Compared to manned aircraft, UAVs can be
smaller, simpler, and more cost-effective; and
they can be launched and recovered from the
ship itself, providing immediate assistance
when a man overboard event is detected.
The overall man overboard unmanned aerial
system (MOB-UAS) that is the subject of this
invention is designed to be highly
autonomous, providing the human rescuers
with timely and valuable information pertinent
to the rescue efforts.
In one embodiment of the invention, a
ship-based system may consist of a number of
UAVs that are housed in a launching
mechanism on the deck of the main vessel.
The first step that initiates the search and
rescue process is the detection of a man
overboard event. This event may be indicated
to the MOB-UAS by a human operator
through a computer-based graphical user
interface, optionally specifying additional data
such as how long ago the victim was estimated
to have fallen overboard. Alternatively, a
specialized event detection system comprised
of RF transmitters or other sensors designed to
automatically detect man overboard events
may be employed to alert the MOB-UAS of
the event.
The MOB-UAS may contain an autonomous,
software-based mission management program
that receives this alert from the human
operator and automatically computes a plan for
searching for the man overboard. In order to
minimize the time needed to find the victim,
the system may optimize the search pattern
using a database of information such as the
vessel’s navigation route, current and historical
weather, and other data points.
Given the desired search pattern, the mission
management program then commands the
UAVs to launch from the ship and begin
searching for the victim. The mission
management program divides the search area
among the available UAVs, commanding each
UAV to search a specified region. It may also
coordinate with any available human-
controlled vessels, assigning them to search
particular areas and avoiding unnecessary
duplication of search efforts in order to
maximize efficiency. Each UAV uses onboard
GPS and inertial sensors coupled with a flight
control computer to stabilize and control the
UAV’s trajectory over the commanded search
region. The UAVs and control algorithms are
designed to be robust to adverse weather
conditions.
Using on-board sensors and processing
algorithms, the UAVs analyze the acquired
sensor data in real-time to determine whether
the victim is likely to be in their current
location. If the processing algorithms are
unable to automatically determine whether the
sensor data indicates the presence of the
victim, the UAVs may transmit the sensor data,
via a wireless communications network, back
to the ship for human interpretation. Through
the graphical user interface, the human
operator can indicate whether he believes the
victim has been found or not.
The search continues until the victim has been
found.
When the victim has been found, the mission
management program automatically alerts the
human rescuers of this event and informs them
of the victim’s location. It may also present
graphical steering cues to the main vessel
and/or smaller human-controlled vessels
participating in the search to assist in
navigating to the victim. In addition, the
mission management program may launch
another UAV carrying a buoyant package of
survival gear (life vest, emergency beacon,
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3. water and food supplies, etc) and command it
to drop the package near the victim’s location.
This may afford the victim more time to
survive until the slower, human-controlled
surface vessels arrive.
After the victim is successfully picked up by a
surface vessel, the mission management
program automatically commands all flying
UAVs to return to the ship for recovery. The
UAVs are replaced in the launching
mechanism and the system is reset, ready to be
used again.
5. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE
DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows the hardware and software
architecture of the UAVs employed in the
MOB-UAS. Hardware subsystems of each
UAV are denoted by solid boxes in the second
level of the tree, and software components are
denoted by dashed boxes in the third level.
Figure 2 shows the hardware and software
architecture of the ground control station.
Hardware subsystems are denoted by solid
boxes in the second level of the tree, and
software components are denoted by dashed
boxes in the third level.
Figure 3 shows the hardware and software
architecture of the shipboard launch and
recovery station. Hardware subsystems are
denoted by solid boxes in the second level of
the tree, and software components are denoted
by dashed boxes in the third level.
Figure 4 shows the hardware and software
architecture of the human interface consoles.
Hardware subsystems are denoted by solid
boxes in the second level of the tree, and
software components are denoted by dashed
boxes in the third level.
6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention consists of a system for
operating one or more unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) from a maritime vessel in
support of a man overboard search and rescue
operation, denoted man overboard unmanned
aerial system, or MOB-UAS. Many specific
details of certain embodiments of the
MOB-UAS invention are set forth in the
following description and in the figures to
provide a thorough understanding of such
embodiments. One skilled in the art, however,
will understand that the present invention may
have additional embodiments, or that the
present invention may be practiced without
several of the details described in the
following description. In particular, note that
while the main embodiment discussed below
contains several autonomous software
programs for automatically controlling various
functions of the MOB-UAS, any of these
functions may instead be performed by a
human using an appropriate human interface
console. Regardless of whether these functions
are performed by autonomous software
programs or humans, all such embodiments
fall under the scope of this invention.
Generally speaking, the MOB-UAS invention
consists of five major components: 1) one or
more UAVs, 2) a ground control station, 3) a
shipboard launch and recovery station, 4) one
or more human interface consoles, and 5) a
system for detecting the man overboard event
and triggering the activation of the
MOB-UAS. Each of these components
comprises a set of hardware that forms the
physical embodiment of the component, as
well as software that manages and controls the
hardware and communicates with other
components in the system. Each of these
components is described below.
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4. 6.1. UAVs
6.1.1. Hardware
Each UAV in the MOB-UAS comprises the
following hardware components: an airframe;
a powerplant; an apparatus for shipboard
launch and recovery; flight control actuators;
flight control sensors; a flight control
computer; payload sensors; and a wireless
communications system (see Figure 1).
The airframe and powerplant subsystems of
the UAV are designed to provide payload,
endurance, and range capability appropriate
for the search and rescue mission to be
performed. Furthermore, these subsystems
must be designed to be robust to adverse
weather conditions in-flight, to account for
operations that must be performed in poor
weather.
The shipboard launch and recovery apparatus
allows the UAV to safely launch from the deck
of the ship. The launch procedure may, for
example, consist of a catapult that rapidly
accelerates the UAV to flying speed starting
from rest on the deck of the ship. In this case,
the UAV’s launch apparatus would consist of a
mechanism to attach the UAV to the catapult
launcher and release the attachment at the
appropriate time. The catapult launcher itself is
permanently mounted to the deck of the ship;
it is part of the shipboard launch and recovery
station and is described in Section 6.3.
Likewise, the recovery procedure may consist
of the UAV executing a controlled flight into a
recovery net mounted onboard the ship. In this
case, the UAV would not require any special
apparatus for recovery, other than reinforcing
the airframe to withstand the high acceleration
involved with the recovery procedure. These
launch and recovery procedures are given as
examples; however, one skilled in the art will
recognize that other launch and recovery
procedures are possible.
The flight control actuators allow the UAV’s
physical flight path to be manipulated by
setting flight control surfaces (i.e. aileron,
elevator, rudder) and powerplant parameters
(i.e. throttle) to commanded values. The
actuators consist of a physical mechanism
attached to the flight control surface or
powerplant, plus an electronic interface that
allows the actuator to be commanded by
signals sent from the flight control computer.
The flight control sensors detect and monitor
important quantities relevant to the control of
the UAV’s flight, including but not limited to:
location (measured by a global position system
(GPS) receiver) and orientation, altitude, and
air data (measured by an air data and
attitude/heading reference system
(ADAHRS)). This flight data is input to the
flight control computer in real-time as it
arrives. The flight control computer comprises
a small embedded computer system whose role
is to process the flight data and compute the
necessary commands to send to the flight
control actuators in order to autonomously
stabilize and control the UAV along a desired
trajectory.
The payload sensors are carried onboard each
UAV and provide the core functionality
needed by the MOB-UAS to achieve the goal
of finding the victim. The role of the payload
sensors is to provide remote detection
capability for the victim. Thus, the payload
sensors must provide data that allows either an
autonomous computer program or a human to
assess whether the victim is currently in the
field of the sensor. For example, one payload
sensor might be an infrared camera mounted to
the bottom of the UAV. The camera provides
an image representing the temperature
differences between different points in the
image. Since the victim is likely to be warmer
than the surrounding water he is in, he can
therefore be detected as a bright spot in the
infrared image. Similarly, a visible camera
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5. may be used to detect the victim. Other types
of sensors may also be used. Furthermore,
several different sensors may be carried by the
UAV and employed simultaneously as a means
to cross-check and validate the data from each
individual sensor.
Finally, the UAV carries a wireless
communications system that allows it to
communicate with other UAVs and the ground
control station. The communications system
comprises one or more antennas mounted to
the exterior of the UAV, and one or more
transceivers capable of sending and receiving
wireless signals through the antennas. The
wireless communications system is designed
and scaled to provide range and data transfer
rates appropriate to the search and rescue
operation.
6.1.2. Software
The UAV software comprises a flight control
law; communications routines; payload sensor
processing routines; mission management
routines; and fault detection and recovery
routines (see Figure 1). All software runs on
the flight control computer, although
additional processors could be used to run
different subsets of the software if necessary.
The flight control law takes, as input, data
from the flight control sensors as well as a
specification of the desired trajectory to fly,
and outputs the necessary flight actuator
commands necessary to fly the trajectory. The
flight control law is a mathematical description
of the relationship between sensor data,
trajectory data, and actuator commands, and
may be computed using any control law
synthesis methodology.
The communications routines serve as an
interface to the wireless communication
hardware described in Section 6.1.1, and
provide functions for sending and receiving
messages to and from other UAVs and the
ground control station. These routines provide
a basic capability needed by the higher-level
mission management software in order to
effectively coordinate the actions of all UAVs.
The payload sensor processing routines
receive the real-time sensor data generated by
the payload sensors and attempt to detect and
locate the victim. The details of these routines
may vary depending on which payload sensors
the UAV is carrying. For example, a routine
designed for an infrared camera may be able to
detect the victim by looking for parts of the
sensor image that correspond to temperatures
in the range of normal human body
temperature. This processing may be able to be
performed onboard, or the necessary
processing tasks may be offloaded to a more
powerful computer in the ground control
station if feasible. Furthermore, the payload
sensor processing routines may enlist the
assistance of a human operator to verify the
presence of the victim if the routines are
unable to establish his presence with certainty
by themselves.
The mission management routines govern the
high-level actions of the UAV, coordinating its
actions with those of the other UAVs in order
to maximize the effectiveness of the
coordinated search activity. In particular, these
routines communicate with the master mission
management routine on the ground control
station as well as with the other UAVs to
obtain current information on which areas
have already been searched and which areas
are believed to be locations where the victim
might be. Using this information, the mission
management routines coordinate with the
master mission management routine and
determine a trajectory for the UAV to fly that
will maximize the probability that the victim
will be found quickly. Furthermore, after the
victim has been found, the mission
management routines are responsible for
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6. computing a return trajectory to the ship and
coordinating the recovery sequence with the
other UAVs, ensuring that all UAVs are safely
recovered and able to be used again.
The fault detection and recovery routines
monitor the progress of the mission and the
performance of the UAV’s subsystems. If a
subsystem fails or begins to exhibit degraded
performance, the fault detection and recovery
routines attempt to diagnose the fault and
mitigate its impact on the mission. For
example, if one of the UAV’s payload sensors
begins to malfunction, the fault detection and
recovery routines may assess whether it is
possible to continue the mission using the
remaining, functional payload sensors. If so,
the routines may take no action, but if not,
they may assume control of the UAV and
command it to return to the ship for recovery
and maintenance.
6.2. Ground Control Station
6.2.1. Hardware
The hardware of the ground control station
consists of a command and control computer;
and a wireless communications system (see
Figure 2).
The command and control computer is
responsible for running several software
routines (to be described below) critical to the
success of the overall search and rescue
mission. Since the command and control
computer is located on the ship and is
therefore not subject to the same power and
weight constraints as the flight control
computers onboard each UAV, it may be a
more powerful computer capable of running
many calculations per second. As a result, the
software run by the command and control
computer may be more computationally
intensive than that run onboard the UAVs.
Furthermore, the command and control
computer may utilize a remote procedure call
(RPC) mechanism to run computationally
intensive tasks on behalf of the UAVs (which
may not be able to run these tasks themselves
due to limitations in their onboard processing
capabilities). The command and control
computer may utilize an uninterruptible power
supply (UPS) to provide robustness and
continued operation in the event of a loss or
interruption in the ship’s main power supply.
An alternative embodiment of the ground
control station is to have the physical
computing hardware located off-board the
ship, in a centrally hosted data center
environment that is run by a staff of experts. In
this embodiment, the ship’s systems are linked
to the central computer via a satellite or
wireless internet link, and all commands
between the central computer and the rest of
the MOB-UAS components are routed through
the internet link. This embodiment may have
the additional advantage of allowing a team of
experts, located off-board the ship, to monitor
and optionally control the execution of the
search and rescue mission.
In a further embodiment, an interface may be
developed to transmit pertinent data from the
search and rescue mission (such as video feeds
from the UAVs, telemetry data, information
about which areas have already been searched,
etc) to other organizations (such as the Coast
Guard, other search and rescue vessels in the
area, etc) in order to increase overall
situational awareness and improve the overall
search effectiveness. This subsystem could
take the form of a turn-key system that
provides all necessary hardware and software
components in a single package, or be
specified in terms of a software interface for
receiving data from the system.
The wireless communications system is of
similar nature to that carried onboard the
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7. UAVs, but the communications system used in
the ground control station may be more
powerful (in terms of transmit power, antenna
gain, etc) compared to the UAVs’
communications system, since again, the
ship-based system is not subject to the same
UAV design constraints of weight, power, and
size. The wireless communications system
enables messages to be conveyed between the
UAVs and the ground station.
6.2.2. Software
In one embodiment of the invention, the
software routines of the ground control station
are run on the command and control computer
(although, as mentioned in Section 6.2.1, other
embodiments such as off-board computation
over an internet link are possible). The
software consists of: an environmental model;
a master mission management routine; and a
human interface module (see Figure 2).
The environmental model is responsible for
maintaining an estimate of where the victim is
likely to be located at all times. Since there is,
by definition, significant uncertainty in the
victims’ location, the environmental model
must be probabilistic in nature; specifically,
the output of the model is a probability
distribution defined over possible locations of
the victim (i.e. the area surrounding the ship).
The environmental model incorporates data
such as the current and historic wind and water
currents in the vicinity of the ship, the current
and historic position and velocity of the ship,
and any available estimates of when the victim
fell overboard. Using this data, the
environmental model develops an initial
estimate of the (probability distribution over
the) location of the victim, and propagates this
estimate forward through time to supply an up-
date estimate to the master mission
management routine. Furthermore, as the
UAVs begin their search operations, their
sensor data is also incorporated into the
environmental model, such that the output of
the environmental model represents a
constantly up-to-date estimate of where to
search for the victim.
Given the environmental model’s estimate, the
master mission management routine
communicates with the mission management
routines onboard each UAV, and computes a
joint set of search trajectories for all UAVs
designed to maximize the probability of
quickly finding the victim. This computation
may involve solving a large scale optimization
problem, and is thus best performed on the
power command and control computer rather
than the less powerful flight control computers
onboard each UAV. Once the optimization
problem is solved, the master mission
management routine sends the proposed
trajectories to each UAV. As the mission
evolves and updated victim location estimates
arrive from the environmental model, the
master mission management routine may
repeatedly resolve the optimization problem
and send updated trajectories to the UAVs,
ensuring that the UAVs continuously update
their search pattern to account for new
information.
Finally, the human interface module provides a
software interface to the environmental model
and master mission management routine,
allowing the data associated with these
software processes to be transmitted to human
interface consoles located both on the main
ship and possibly also on auxiliary surface
ships assisting in the search and rescue
operations. This interface allows the humans
involved in the rescue efforts observe the
progress of the mission, and to possibly adjust
mission parameters. It should be noted that the
MOB-UAS system is designed to operate with
minimal human intervention. Therefore, the
data and capabilities provided by the human
interface module can be used if desired, or the
MOB-UAS system may be started and
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8. subsequently run completely autonomously
until the victim is found, at which point the
MOB-UAS will use the human interface
module to notify the human operators of this
event and direct them to the victim.
6.3. Shipboard Launch and Recovery
Station
6.3.1. Hardware
The shipboard launch and recovery station is
responsible for safely launching the UAVs
from the deck of the ship at the start of a
rescue mission, recovering the UAVs at the
end of the mission, and protecting and
monitoring the UAVs while not in use.
Possible hardware configurations for the
launch and recovery operations has already
been discussed above (in the UAV section),
and multiple such configurations are possible.
In addition to the launch and recovery
hardware, the shipboard launch and recovery
station contains a housing system for the
UAVs to protect them while not in use. This
housing may, for example, comprise a
protective cover or lid that can be retracted to
enable launch and recovery operations.
Furthermore, the housing may contain
monitoring equipment necessary to assess the
condition of the UAVs’ subsystems while not
in use. The purpose of this monitoring
equipment is to ensure that faults in the UAVs’
subsystems are detected at the time of
occurrence and can thus be repaired before the
MOB-UAS system is needed. The monitoring
equipment may consist, for example, of
hardware to power the UAVs while in the
housing unit such that the computers and
sensor systems may be actively tested while
the UAV is otherwise idle.
The shipboard launch and recovery station is
connected to the ground control station via a
wired or wireless datalink, depending on the
requirements dictating where on the ship each
component is to be located. In either case, the
software associated with the shipboard launch
and recovery station may run on the main
command and control computer in the ground
control station, eliminating the need for an
additional computer processor in the launch
and recovery station. Figure 3 shows the
hardware and software architecture of the
shipboard launch and recovery station.
6.3.2. Software
The software associated with the shipboard
launch and recovery station consists of: a
launch and recovery routine; and a monitoring
and maintenance routine (see Figure 3).
The launch and recovery routine serves as a
“control tower” for the flight launch and
recovery operations on the ship. In particular,
the launch and recovery routine receives
requests from the UAVs to launch or be
recovered, and maintains a list of which
components of the launch and recovery
systems are currently in use. It assigns these
resources in such a way as to allow safe and
efficient launching and recovery operations
from the ship. For example, if the launch and
recovery systems are located close to each
other on the ship, the launch and recovery
routine will prevent a UAV from launching if
another UAV is currently being recovered, thus
eliminating the possibility of collisions near
the ship. Once the inbound UAV is recovered,
the launch and recovery routine will allow the
next UAV to launch.
The monitoring and maintenance routine
periodically runs a set of test operations on
each UAV while they are not in use, in order to
ensure the correct functioning of the UAVs’
subsystems. For example, one such test
operation might be to power on the UAV’s
wireless communications subsystem, and
ensure that the UAV responds to commands
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9. sent over the wireless communications link. If
any of the test operations fails, the monitoring
and maintenance routine alerts the human
operators to the fault so that it can be fixed. In
this manner, the monitoring and maintenance
routine ensures that all UAVs are in proper
working order when they are needed for a
rescue mission.
6.4. Human Interface Consoles
6.4.1. Hardware
The purpose of the human interface consoles is
to provide informational and control
capabilities to the human operators of the
MOB-UAS system. Depending on the
configuration of the ship and the presence of
auxiliary ships that are assisting in the rescue
operation, there may be one or more human
interface consoles located in various locations
onboard the ships, and furthermore, small
handheld consoles may be employed to allow
for greater situational awareness as rescuers
move about the ships. As such, the specific
hardware employed by the human interface
consoles may vary depending on the
requirements of the crew. The basic
requirements of the human interface console,
however, are a display device on which
relevant data from the rescue mission may be
displayed; a means for data input in order to
interact with the system; a wired or wireless
datalink to the ground control station; and a
basic computational processor (see Figure 4).
These requirements may be satisfied by a full-
scale desktop computer and monitor located on
the bridge of the ship, or by a handheld mobile
device such as a cellular phone or handheld
PC. Other types of interface devices are
possible as well.
6.4.2. Software
The human interface consoles run a
specialized graphical user interface (GUI)
program that acts as a “thin client”to the
human interface module run on the main
command and control computer (see Figure 4).
The GUI may display graphical data relevant
to the current state of the rescue mission,
including but not limited to: the environmental
model’s current estimate of the location of the
victim; the areas that have already been
searched and the areas the remain to be
searched; the current time and weather
conditions; locations and flight time remaining
of all UAVs; locations of surface vessels; etc.
The GUI may be reconfigurable by the user to
display selected data while omitting others.
Furthermore, the GUI may allow the user to
manually adjust mission parameters; for
example, to change the search area or update
an estimate of when the victim fell overboard.
If desired, the GUI may also allow the user to
more closely supervise the execution of the
mission and/or override any decisions the
MOB-UAS makes autonomously.
When the victim is found, the display of the
GUI changes to indicate this event and begins
directing the human operator toward the
victim. It may display the location of the
surface vessels and the victim on a map, and
display steering cues to allow the human
operator to navigate to the victim’s location.
During this phase of the rescue operation, the
GUI may prominently display relevant data
such as the distance and bearing to the victim’s
location, and the surface winds and wave
heights, in order to facilitate a safe recovery.
7. CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1. A system for operating one or more
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for
the purpose of detecting, locating, and
aiding in the rescue of one or more
victims who have fallen into a large
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10. body of water, comprising:
a) a group of UAVs possessing
onboard sensors capable of
detecting and locating the
victims;
b) a mechanical system to allow
for launch and recovery of the
UAVs; and
c) a ground control station.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the
victims have fallen off of a maritime
vessel.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the
victims have fallen off of an offshore
oil rig.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the
victims have fallen off of a low-flying
aircraft or helicopter.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the
victims have fallen off of any other
platform under, on, near or over water.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the
mechanical launch and recovery
system is mounted onboard the vessel,
oil rig, or other platform that the victim
has fallen off from.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the
system contains an autonomous
mission management software program
that formulates a mission plan and
directs a group of UAVs to execute this
mission plan.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the
system provides a graphical user
interface to allow a human operator to
monitor the progress of the search and
optionally input relevant data and
commands to the system and/or take
manual control of the mission
execution.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the
UAVs have onboard and autonomous
flight control and sensor processing
algorithms for stabilizing the UAV and
deciding whether the victims have been
found, respectively.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein a
communications network allows
information to be sent and received
between the UAVs, the base station,
and any other internal or external
resources involved in the mission, for
the purposes of exchanging relevant
information.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein one or
more UAVs possesses a mission
relevant payload that can be dropped to
the person or persons once they are
located.
Patricio Feder Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System For Man Overboard Search And Rescue Page 10 of 14

11. Figure 1: UAV hardware and software architecture

12. Figure 2: Ground control station hardware and software architecture

13. Figure 3: Shipboard launch and recovery station hardware and software architecture

14. Figure 4: Human interface console hardware and software architecture