Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Coquitlam Search and rescue has been researching the use of UAVs for Search and Rescue since October 2012.

Coquitlam SAR has been working with several local UAV operators for several years on an ongoing project to learn how Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) might be applied to Search and Rescue. As subject matter experts in SAR, Coquitlam SAR managers and members have been providing their expertise and requirements for how they believe a UAV might be useful, while North Guardian, subject matter experts in the capabilities of UAVs, have been providing feedback and demonstrations of how a UAV performs.

UAVs have been used for SAR operations in various places around the world, but mostly on an ad-hoc basis. Coquitlam SAR and North Guardian have undertaken this project to understand how a UAV might be used in a standard SAR operation. To that end, North Guardian has been proactive in working with Transport Canada in order to understand the regulatory requirements for commercial operation of these devices, and how these regulations would apply to SAR and other situations.

As thought leaders in this area of SAR, we will be sending one of our members to Canada’s national search and rescue conference, SARScene 2013 in Chilliwack  BC where he will participate in various panel discussions as a SAR Subject Matter expert

We look forward to applying this technology to SAR operations to make them faster, safer, and more efficient.