AI Drone Software Company Opens for Search and Rescue Beta Testing

March 31st, 2022

The Danish drone software startup, Robotto, most known for the wildfire AI-drone software helping firefighters do their job with real-time analyzed data, is proud to announce the beta testing of Robotto Search and Rescue.

When searching for those in need of rescuing, emergency services rely on many different reconnaissance techniques, including grid pattern searches, dog searches, and aerial surveillance. Several departments have begun to utilize drones as they are relatively inexpensive and easy to get in the air, getting their eyes in the sky fast.

Much like Robotto Fire, Robotto Search and Rescue harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to enable the drone to fly and search autonomously, identifying those in need, giving the users the ability to actively interact to determine if the identified person is the one in trouble.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Drone operators select an area on the map for the drone to search.

2. The software identifies the most effective flight path and begins to fly autonomously

3. Using AI, the software identifies subjects who may be in need of emergency services.

4. Drone operators evaluate the identification and choose to either continue searching or to hover and monitor the situation.

BETA TESTING

To ensure the best software for emergency responders, Robotto will be conducting a beta testing round. For this, we are looking for five drone teams who:

• Has experience using drones for Search and Rescue purposes

• Has or is willing to purchase a DJI Matrice 300

• Has or is willing to purchase a DJI Manifold 2-3 (128g). (An onboard computer where the software operates)

Beta testers will receive special access to the software, which includes a beta testing license, allowing them to utilize the software in their ongoing operations. Participants will be expected to answer periodic surveys, share videos, and participate in marketing videos.

Participation requirements include:

• Reporting bugs activity to Robotto

• Participate in feedback activities such as surveys and interviews

• Participating in marketing activities such as video production and testimonials.

Drone teams interested in participating as beta testers should visit www.robotto.ai/searchandrescue

Interested press should contact:

Christine Thaagaard at cqt@robotto.ai

R-22 and EY Startup of the Year

Last week CEO and Co-Founder Kenneth Richard Geipel, and CET and Co-Founder Iuliu Novac traveled to H.C. Andersen's birthplace to attend R-22 with Odense Robotics. In addition to this, Kenneth Richard Geipel took a short trip from Odense to Copenhagen to attend the annual EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, where Robotto was nominated for Startup of the Year. Here's a short recap:

R-22

The week was spent surrounded by other members of the Robotics club in Denmark. Innovative and future thinking companies from around the country gathered to display their technology and showcase Denmark as a robotics hub. We spent the week alongside Odense Robotics who were our gracious hosts as we showed off our mini drone. Conference go'ers were able to test their drone pilot skills, seeing if they could master the simple hand movements needed to instruct the drone to fly, flip, follow and land. Check out these videos to see how two conference attendees put their skills to the test.

On Thursday Mr. Geipel participated in a pitch, giving conference attendees a deeper insight into Robotto as a company, our current and future products.

He highlighted the way in which we utilize edge-computing to provide ground teams detailed information about the size, location, and direction of the wildfire at hand. In addition to this, Mr. Geipel outlined where the company is looking to expand, noting our future quest to provide emergency services with Search and Rescue and real-time disaster mapping drone software.

EY Entrepreneur of the Year

No one likes loosing, but when you loose to a company like FarmDroid make the loss sting a little less. We're still very proud to have won Startup of the Year for North Denmark, and hope that as we continue our quest to help lower emissions by providing firefighters with more qualified, usable data, we we'll get another chance!

We’re experiencing extreme wildfire seasons, so why isn’t the firefighting industry moving to adapt

Three weeks ago, Robotto and others highlighted the urgent and worrying UN Rapid Response Assessment (read it here) The core of the information in the report was not new, as it reiterated the correlation between wildfires and climate change. What the report did underline was how close wildfires and climate change influence one another.

The assessment outlined just how toxic and dangerous the relationship between wildfires and climate change is. As wildfires rage, they emit high levels of CO2 into the atmosphere, which in turn contribute to rising temperatures. Rising temperatures then contribute to an increase in the number and ferocity of wildfires worldwide.

WE KNOW THE PROBLEM

Images of wildfires, tired firefighters, and scorched earth fill the airwaves and our social media feeds increasingly. As do posts pointing to how dangerously close we have come to the point of no return, as the arctic and Antarctic have begun to experience extreme temperatures.

We all agree this is a dangerous path we are on, but what can we do about it? How can we accelerate drastic changes to how we do business?

At Robotto we know that our software has the ability to drastically change the projection of wildfires. Quality wildfire information provided in real-time puts firefighters on the offensive, allowing them to get control over the flames before they rage out of control.

The question is, what hesitations do fire departments have when it comes to implementing new, innovative technology?

HESITATIONS

Firefighting is a traditional profession with deep ties to its history. This connection to history inspires these heroes to come to our aid when we're in need, but it also can make implementing new technology a slow process.

In recent history, some departments have implemented drone programs. This implementation process is too slow, especially when compared to the problem at hand. In a Facebook group dedicated to firefighting drones, members noted how it took them anywhere between seven to one and a half months to get their program up and running. This wide range may indicate how far we have come in accepting drones as a part of firefighting,

The question of software remains, as many drone teams have opted to either rely on human observes and calculation or to use simple mapping software (this includes lag time.) While these programs are vastly better (in terms of safety and allocation of surveillance resources) they do not solve the issue: how can we implement innovative technology to ensure control over wildfires in order to lower emissions?

So why isn’t the industry moving faster?