A drone research pilot successfully tested how drones could be used to support sea rescues by dropping a rescue buoy on someone in distress in the water.
The pilot was conducted in Helsinki, Finland, in collaboration with the Helsinki Rescue Department. Drones are already used for surveying accidents or searching for those in distress. Transporting a buoy, a flotation device that opens on contact with the water, is an additional task these devices could be used for.
During the pilot, a rescue service person was placed in the water and a drone flew a rescue buoy to them from about 500 meters away. The idea is a drone can reach someone in distress faster than any human rescuers.
“Drones are a functional addition to rescue work. With their help, a person in need of assistance can be located quickly in many situations,” said Petri Korhonen, fire chief in the Helsinki Rescue Department.
The test
The test was not just to see if a drone could cargo drop a buoy but also fly in a challenging environment in the Port of Helsinki. Additionally, the test was to show how drones could be used for numerous uses in the city for transportation and cargo dropping.
The pilot test was part of a European Union-funded international project for cities to adopt drones and experiment with them for various tasks. Other related pilots include drones being used to chase geese away from beaches in Stockholm, Sweden, and surveying a Hamburg port’s renovation needs.
