LONDON SAR: The Growing Significance of UAS

London SAR Explores The Global Growth of Commercial UAS and Its Impact on Public Safety and Search and Rescue

With the introduction of UAS's (Unmanned Aerial System) at commercial level this type of remote aircraft relatively small in size and weight capable to be equipped with several types of payloads such as cameras, sensors and or utility devices, has now become an additional tool for many industries which is growing globally at a faster pace.

The Emergency Services and Search And Rescue have also paid much attention to the utility of UAS.

More informative decisions at operational level can be made to direct ground resources smartly and more efficiently having an aerial platform that can provide aerial situation awareness.

In fact, is now seen as a more costeffective method that provides aerial situation awareness with the use of optical and infrared cameras which until not a long time ago only an helicopter from SAR or RPAS could provide and a far more expensive cost.

London Search And Rescue (LONSAR) is a relatively new charity which supports the London community by assisting the Metropolitan Police PolSa (Police Search Advisers) to search for high risk Missing Person (MISPER) across London open spaces and parks. The charity operates with professionally trained Search Technicians supported by specialist teams such as dogs, water, and bikes teams. The drone team was created just before the COVID pandemic.

Prior COVID, COPTRZ offered to the charity the PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operations) qualification for the future remote pilots. Unfortunately, the pandemic delayed members to start their training. With the introduction of the new specific category under the new UAS regulations which came into effect on December 31st 2020 this caused further delays.

Only in early 2021 LONSAR drone team started to effectively move forward after Tony Liparoti (see picture 1) was appointment as the new Drone Lead. Coming from a military and police background, Tony is a GVC and A2 CofC holder and also the business owner of Dronesync. All three skills have been paramount for LONSAR drone team to develop its strategic layout and become operational within months by facing several challenges.

The following is Tony Liparoti first-hand account of his challenges and successful outcomes.

The very first challenge was having a drone suitable for SAR purposes as the charity did not have one. The DJI Mavic Dual Enterprise which has a thermal camera, was then made readily available at no cost for the charity from my own fleet. This was the best option to start with until future funding would allow LONSAR to purchase his own drone.

After carefully considering what type of category LONSAR drone team should fly, the A2 Open Category was the most obvious as the drone weight is just under 2kg. The main challenge under this category when operating in open spaces and parks is to maintain 50m separation distance from people not involved. However, with the support of drone observers, we mitigate this challenge by alerting nearby members of the public by explaining what we are doing in a professional manner. By doing so the community impact response is always positive. .

The next challenge was ensuring professional development for LONSAR future remote pilots. I had extensive talks with COPTRZ and ultimately, they offered the GVC and A2 CofC training package free of charge replacing the PfCO that was previously offered in 2020. The right applications to support drone operations are invaluable tools to help the remote pilot and his team to plan and execute drone operations efficiently and more important safely.

The planning and execution of drone operations is the most important aspect when it comes to accountability. It requires time and effort in order to obtain vital information of the environment. In a real Search And Rescue deployments to search for a missing person which most of the time are vulnerable people, time is the essence.

To be deployable in a relevantly short period of time, Dronedesk is our go to application. A flight plan can be generated between 30 to 45 minutes when familiar with the application after a pre-survey of the area of operation has been conducted. Dronedesk has a SAR version, and it has been provided to us by CEO Dorian Ellis free of charge. In return LONSAR drone team provides feedback which helps Dronedesk to create new features to make the planning faster and more efficient.

Dorian

is a fantastic person who always listen to remote pilot's needs and a great supporter for SAR.

Altitude Angel is also a great tool that we use which is free of charhe. It is extremely important to notify to other remote pilots our operations in order to create a safe environment for all. Being visible on a online mapping system is also part of our accountability responsibility which for us is extremely important to maintained at the highest standards.

Another application we use is Air Data (see picture 2) which is a very useful drone flight management tool which automatically extracts drone flights and remote pilot data. It also serves as an early sign of problems such has batteries performance. The application extracts al the drone data from each flight and presents it in a format easy to read. What I really like it displays each flight path which in terms of accountability is a useful application. Literally is the drone black box. As we can be deployed in any open space or park anytime in and around London, some of these areas fall within an airport/ aerodrome Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ). NATS (National Air Traffic Services) has a straightforward online NSF

(Non-Standard Flight) permission request. NATS has been extremely supportive by understanding our mission and approved a 12 monthspermission which is renewable every year. The next challenge was obtaining similar permission from those airports who do not fall under NATS and therefore have their own submission process. After some hard work I am proud to say to have set in 2022 a Pan London aerial capability (open spaces and parks) which include: London City airport, London heliport, R157 - R158 - R159 areas, Heathrow airport, Biggin Hill airport, Elstree aerodrome, RAF Northolt airport, Denham aerodrome, Stapleford Flight Centre (see picture 3).

As each airport/aerodrome have their own procedure, I have then created flash cards. Each card guides the remote pilot to contact the airport ATC (Air Traffic Control) and request sequence prior take off is granted. For some locations the police have to be informed too. This is probably my proudest achievement so far as London has a unique airspace due to so many airports and aerodromes and restricted areas (see map).

Our training started by learning how the drone team can support LONSAR Search Technicians and our other specialist teams (dogs, water and bikes). We simulated few scenarios with the dog team by placing a person a couple of hundreds of metres away surrounded by high grass in a field. At the end of the trial, it was clear that the drone was more effective during the search as a dog faces many challenges crossing high grass. In one of the trials the drone took 27 seconds to locate the MISPER. The drone scanned an area from a fix position from 60m of altitude and identified colours on the ground which required the remote pilot to make a closer approach which led to the finding of the missing person position (see picture 4).

In another trial, the drone flew across an open space with flat terrain and sporadic vegetation 350m long and 80m wide. A rucksack that was randomly placed on the ground and was spotted from 35-40m of altitude after visually scanning 2/3 of the assigned area 28 minutes after take-off. Search managers have confirmed that it would take approximately 1 hour and half to cover same size using 20 Search Technicians walking on an extended line.

Lowland Rescue Air Operations Directorate has made available the National Operational Standard which is available for all SAR drone teams. It sets the basics of drone best practice during a missing person search. However, each operation is unique, the environment and the weather conditions dictate how the drone can perform based also on the type of aircraft capabilities. I strongly believe that the best skill a remote pilot and search observer must have an inquisitive mind when searching.

Every clue spotted on the ground can potentially lead to a missing person. At the end of the day a drone is simply a tool, the real asset is who operates this tool.

A lot of effort has been put last year in the funding application to the National Lottery Community Fund which granted us £10,000 With COPTRZ support, we then purchased from them the DJI M3T Enterprise which has an amazing optical zoom camera and infrared camera in high resolution. The main challenge in this application for me was writing the supporting case document by explaining why we need a new drone and what benefits it will bring to the community.

One of our volunteers Dave Smithson has worked in previous successful applications and played an important role by putting the online application together. All my team members have in different ways contributed to different aspects of our growth and I am very proud of them.

The most difficult and challenging drone flight I even conducted was last February during a real MISPER search in Tottenham Marshes in north London whilst assisting the Metropolitan Police. This was a two men team (Remote Pilot and Drone Observer) operating over two days during day light time.

Our main role was to fly above water streams, canals, reservoirs and all those bush areas where access on foot was not permitted. What made it more challenging was the presence of high voltage power lines running across a portion of the search area. By constantly monitoring our search path we made sure to keep well away from those power lines which likely did not obstruct our designate area of search. At the end of the operation, PolSA suggested that two days of drone operation has covered possibly the equivalent of five days search with a full team on the ground. They were extremely pleased of the new drone performance and capability and the planning effort made to execute the aerial operation in such a complex environment.

Recently with the help of team members, we managed to create a direct live streaming video link from the drone to a dedicated Teams meeting channel which means the search manager can view the aerial footage from the drone directly on one of the screens inside our ICU vehicle (Incident Command Unit)

Our Search Observer that works next to the Remote Pilot uses a tablet which mirrors the drone smart controller screen therefore the Remote Pilot can focus on the flight and the Search Observer can focus on the aerial search and best guide the Remote Pilot (see picture 5).

To create a department from the ground up and make it operational, takes a considerably amount of time and effort especially if what you do is as a volunteer in your free time.

Constant work at strategic level is necessary to create a solid platform which then allows to manage operational needs more efficiently. I do believe that SAR drone operations is in constant evolution according to new technology becoming available. What I strongly believe is that best practice and innovative solutions combined with the development of new aerial search techniques is paramount in search and rescue. There are few projects in the pipeline for 2023 which will bring new developments in our aerial operational capability. I am confident that this will make LONSAR drone team more efficient is such unique airspace.

Tony Liparoti

Tony is the London Search and Rescue Drone Lead, responsible for developing and implementing drone-based search and rescue operations in the London area. With his expertise in drone technology and a commitment to public safety, he has helped to lead successful operations throughout the region.

Tony is also the owner of DRONESYNC, providing commercial drone operations, 360 virtual tours, and corporate videos to clients. He has built a strong reputation in the industry for his innovative and effective solutions.

As a strategic team member for KickOff@3, a community interest company that uses sport to engage young people and bring communities together, Tony has helped to develop initiatives that have had a positive impact on the local community.

Tony holds certifications in drone operations and stays up-to-date with the latest industry developments to provide the best possible service to his clients.

Contact: tony.liparoti@londonsar.com