The results of the research were published by the developers in the collection of materials of the XXIII All-Russian scientific and technical conference of students, graduate students and young scientists "Problems of social and stechnological development in the modern world."
— The need to search for lost people in the forest often arises in the summer and autumn periods. In this case, it is very important to effectively use the resources involved, such as dog teams, equipment, experience and knowledge of the participants. Therefore, we have proposed a device in the form of a "key fob", which, after switching on, will send a distress signal in the FM band. This will help to quickly detect a person when combing the area, — says the author of the development, a third-year student of the Department of General Scientific Disciplines of the Lysvensky branch of the Perm Polytech University, Sergei Sterlyazhnikov.
According to the researchers, now two methods are used during the search: ground and air. With the help of aircraft, the missing are searched for over a large area, but the disadvantage of this method is that it is effective in the presence of free areas: swamps, fields, and dense tree crowns impair the view. Among the "ground" methods, the most common method is aerial searches, less often - search by tracks. The latter is not effective enough, since most often it is not possible to reliably identify traces of a person in the forest.
На местности эксперты и волонтеры также применяют несколько вариантов поиска: метод упреждения, когда спасатели предполагают направление и скорость человека и пытаются опередить его; а также поиск по местным ориентирам и прочесывание местности. Например, с помощью прочесывания спасатели ищут детей, которые прячутся в лесу. Но при этом способе есть вероятность, что участники поиска не заметят неподвижно лежащего человека, которому необходима медицинская помощь, поясняют разработчики.
Experts and volunteers also use several search options while searching on the ground: the pre-emption method, when rescuers assume the direction and speed of a person and try to get ahead of him; as well as searching for local landmarks and searching through the area. For example, rescuers are looking for children who are hiding in the forest. But with this method, there is a possibility that the search participants will not notice a motionless person who needs medical attention, — the developers explain.
— Our "key fob" device consists of two main units: an FM transmitter based on the MAX2606 microcircuit and a sound module based on the JQ6500 microcircuit. The device is compact, easy to use and waterproof. It is intended to be of a single use. This will avoid false switching on of the device or freezing of its battery as it is unacceptable in an emergency, — explains Alexander Toroschin, the academic adviser of the developer, engineer at the department of Scientific Research of the Lysva branch of the Perm Polytech University.
Before a walk, a person will be able to take the device with him and, if necessary, turn it on. After that, the "key fob" will give a signal in a certain range, according to which the searchers will be able to find the missing person.
In the future, young developers plan to modify the prototype in order to improve the accuracy of determining the location of a person and the autonomy of the device. They will also develop an app to track launched devices on a map. This will help reduce the workload on search squads, as it will require fewer participants, the researchers said. In addition, people will be able to receive notifications when devices are on in the surrounding area.