Drones in Disaster Zones: How Advanced 3D Mapping Technology Can Help First Responders Save Lives

When first responders need to rescue people from an earthquake-ravaged home, they need real-time information. If law enforcement officers are looking for a shooter in a crowded building, they must learn everything they can about the scene. 

Emergency responders need to know where people are and if the building is structurally stable enough for them to attempt a rescue. 

But timely information can be scarce during a natural disaster or other dangerous incident. 

In many of these situations, sending an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), also known as a drone, into a building can provide lifesaving intelligence by capturing video footage, identifying potential hazards and mapping the inside of the building. 

NIST Drone Test

“This mapping technology can allow first responders to know where there might be potential victims,” said Stephanie Layman of NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division. “These maps can help direct responders more quickly to exactly where to send their people, as well as map a path to help get them back out safely. It’s about saving lives — including first responders’ lives.” 

But flying a UAS inside a building is a lot trickier than flying one outdoors for several reasons. Drones often rely on GPS to remain in a stable position, but they cannot always use it indoors. UASs may also have to move through tight spaces such as hallways, doors or stairs. Additionally, the systems must navigate through the turbulence created by their own propellers — something that also occurs with helicopters, according to NIST Robotics Program Manager Kamel S. Saidi. 

Saidi pointed out that while many first responders now have access to affordable drones, it can cost $50,000 or more to purchase tools that provide detailed real-time intelligence. 

A 3D Mapping Challenge 

To encourage the development of more affordable versions of this technology, NIST recently sponsored a 3D indoor mapping prize challenge to help UAS designers and engineers build systems that can help first responders while operating in these challenging indoor environments. 

The challenge asked participants to design a system that could provide high-quality 3D images and maps that could be easily displayed for the incident commander and pilot, while flying a complex path through a building. Contestants collected images of specific targets in the indoor environment, while NIST experts made measurements. 

Teams were eligible to win cash prizes and received help from experts while developing their inventions from the idea stage to something that’s commercially available.  

NIST also hosted a testing event last year that allowed participants to test their drones in an indoor space used to train firefighters in Montgomery County, Maryland. 

It was akin to an aerial scavenger hunt. The teams received grades on factors such as the number and quality of the images they collected and their ability to fly the course within the drone’s battery life. 

One of NIST’s roles in these efforts is to bring parties together — emergency responder organizations, drone pilots and drone experts — and to provide impartial testing of drones and their pilots. 

Additionally, NIST’s engineers are creating ways to evaluate how well UAS technology works in varied environments. Those measurements and test methods may eventually become standards published through a standards organization, just as the process works in other areas of NIST. 

Moving the Industry Forward 

Competitor Eric Bircher said the competition helped his team develop its 3D mapping techniques, which is key to making drones work for first responders. 

Bircher became interested in drones after seeing a competition on ESPN in 2016. Now, he consults in the field and works for a company that delivers food via drones. 

“I want to push the industry forward as far as getting drones in the hands of first responders. I like helping people, and I wanted to be a part of this field. So, I thought, why not use my skills to help push this industry forward?” he said. 

While the competition is a step forward for this important work, which has tremendous potential to help first responders work in a variety of challenging indoor environments, Saidi says it will take time before this technology is readily available at a lower price.

“I think more research and development will be needed to make faster and cheaper 3D mapping technology that can work on small, inexpensive drones. It’s getting there, but we haven’t seen the big breakthrough yet,” he said. “We know this technology is working on UAS for other industries at a higher price point for similar applications. We believe it’s just a matter of time before reliable, real-time 3D mapping is available for all budgets and applications.”