Drone fleets could find lost hikers in forests without using GPS

Drone fleets could find lost hikers in forests without using GPS

Drones can already be effective search and rescue tools, but not in densely-packed forests where the tree cover might block GPS signals.

Thankfully, MIT has a clever solution: use the same technology that guides self-driving cars.

Its researchers have developed drone tech that uses LIDAR to map forests without any use of GPS.

Each drone creates a 2D map that also includes the orientations of trees, making it easy to tell where the robotic aircraft has already been as it searches through a specified area.

https://www.engadget.com/amp/2018/11/04/drones-could-find-hikers-in-forests/