DEMO: UAVs in crowd tagged mountain rescue

Abstract

This project explores the potential for users to interact with live events in a new and dynamic way. It draws on fixed wing unmanned aircraft and associated sensor systems to provide realtime video and image data. It uses a web based software package as a crowd sourced imagery analysis tool allowing user involvement in the tagging and sorting of images. This technology allows a simulation of how the power of crowds[1] could be combined with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to monitor video footage and identify areas of particular interest by interacting with live video. A test flight in collaboration with Patterdale Mountain Rescue is used. The system fosters active citizenship by connecting communities to real life, live events in open-source creative communities. It explores the barriers and potential for an entirely new capacity for users to choose the perspective and proximity of their view by interacting with images from a UAV through ambient media. Copyright © 2013 ACM