Abstract
The possibility of the application of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in search and rescue activities in a deep underground mine has been investigated. In the presented case study, a UAV is searching for a lost or injured human who is able to call for help but is not able to move or use any communication device. A UAV capturing acoustic data while flying through underground corridors is used. The acoustic signal is very noisy since during the flight the UAV contributes high-energetic emission. The main goal of the paper is to present an automatic signal processing procedure for detection of a specific sound (supposed to contain voice activity) in presence of heavy, time-varying noise from UAV. The proposed acoustic signal processing technique is based on time-frequency representation and Euclidean distance measurement between reference spectrum (UAV noise only) and captured data. As both the UAV and “injured” person were equipped with synchronized microphones during the experiment, validation has been performed. Two experiments carried out in lab conditions, as well as one in an underground mine, provided very satisfactory results.
Highlights
Data acquired during the first experiment consist of sounds recorded at the same time with two microphones located at different places: first, located nearby the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (’next-to-drone’ record); second, nearby the person who was making voice calling for help (’next-to-victim’ record)
We intentionally introduced maneuvers during the flight to assess the variability of acoustic signal parameters
A conception of drone usage for rescue operations in underground mines has been presented with the assumption of a situation in which an accident victim is capable of calling for help
Summary
Due to the complexity of the underground corridors network, localization of an injured person or any other incident, if not reported on an emergency line, is complicated and time-consuming. It imposes a serious danger in the cases, in which rapid contact with works supervisors or rescue units is crucial. An example of an emergency situation caused by them can be given, like one of the co-workers in a pair or small group fainting In such a case, the presence of a drone sent to the area in which worsened environmental parameters have been reported can significantly shorten the time needed to reach the victim and others at risk
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