A Multi-UAS Platform to Accelerate Situation Assessment in First Response Missions – Identification of User Needs and System Requirements Using Design Thinking

Abstract

First responders can benefit greatly from the newest progress in technological means, such as the application of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), to improve the assessment of a disaster situation and reduce the risk of future casualties caused by large-scale natural disasters. The application of UAS in search and rescue missions has proved to be an effective way to quickly gain situation awareness in large-scale natural disasters. Therefore, the RESPONDRONE project, funded by the European Commission’s H2020 programme as well as the governments of Korea, Armenia and Israel, aims to develop and evaluate a multi-UAS platform to accelerate situation assessment and simplify operations for first responders, thus making first response more efficient. The RESPONDRONE platform intends to ease decision making by providing relevant information to all involved stakeholders through a web-based system. To ensure that the platform will be useful for first response organizations, we obtained user needs and system requirements by applying methods from the design thinking methodology. 18 stakeholders participated in a two-day workshop aiming to create potential mock-ups of the multi-UAS platform that specifically take into account the ideas and needs of the end users. Based on the prototype mock-ups, an initial mock-up of the multi-UAS platform’s user interface was created. As means to enable simple and safe operability of the platform, concepts to enable effective and safe flight planning of the UAS including spatial and temporal deconfliction as well as automated risk detection and mitigation were derived. The results of the design thinking workshop as well as the developed mock-ups and the derived flight planning concept are presented and discussed.