Design and construction of a prototype of an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with artificial vision for the search of people

This paper describes the development and implementation of a six-pointed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle [UAV] prototype, designed for finding lost people in hard to access areas, using Arduino MultiWii platform. A platform capable of performing a stable flight to identify people through an on-board camera and an image processing algorithm was developed. Although the use of UAV represents a low cost and quick response –in terms of displacement– solution, capable to prevent or reduce the number of deaths of lost people in away places, also represents a technological challenge, since the recognition of objects from an aerial view is difficult, due to the distance of the UAV to the objective, the UAV’s position and its constant movement. The solution proposed implements an aerial device that performs the image capture, wireless transmission and image processing while it is in a controlled and stable flight.

Se desarrolló un prototipo de Vehículo Aéreo no Tripulado [UAV] de seis puntas, diseñado para buscar personas extraviadas en zonas de difícil acceso, con Arduino MultiWii, capaz de realizar un vuelo estable para efectuar, en conjunto con un algoritmo de procesamiento de imágenes, la correcta búsqueda de personas a través de una cámara a bordo. Si bien usar un UAV puede reducir el costo, aumentar la velocidad de respuesta en las tareas de rescate y reducir el número de personas perdidas en lugares lejanos e incomunicados muertas, también representa un reto tecnológico: el reconocimiento de objetos desde el aire, debido a la distancia entre el UAV y su objetivo, la posición del UAV y su constante movimiento.