Reliable measurements for safe rescue operations after building collapses

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Stefan J. Rupitsch; Dr. Katrin Schmitt
• Subject Area: Measurement Systems
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541028991

When it comes to saving lives after building collapses, especially after earthquakes or gas explosions, rapid action by emergency services is crucial. The chances of survival decrease rapidly over time. Reliable measuring systems are therefore required that both ensure the safety of emergency services and enable the rapid location of buried victims. As part of the "SORTIE" project financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the project partners Wöllenstein and Rupitsch (formerly the Reindl working group) researched a gas sensor system for detecting explosive gases and a bioradar for locating buried people. Both systems were installed on a drone for safe and quick situation reconnaissance. In the event of a disaster, leaking natural gas can lead to a gas explosion and pose a serious danger to rescue workers and the civilian population. With the help of gas sensors on the drone, the area of operation can be scanned for explosive gases over a large area. If they occur, the operation must first be interrupted for the safety of the rescue workers. Bioradar is used to search for survivors under the rubble, even in inaccessible places. The general suitability of these measurement systems for rescue operations with a drone has already been demonstrated by the applicants in field tests. The functionality and state of the art of the respective sensor systems is described below. Rescue workers in particular always ask the question about the reliability of the measuring systems. The project proposed in this application is therefore intended to enable the systematic determination of the measurement quality of the two systems depending on the resources of time, size and energy as a measurement uncertainty budget, as provided for in the tender for the priority program "Measurement technology on flying platforms". The specification of the measurement uncertainties should be prepared in accordance with the "Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement".

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2433: Metrology on flying platforms
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Wöllenstein