Autonomous UAV Based Rescue Response System for Emergency Response

Dhruvika Patil; Deep Kale; Aishwarya Varekar; Ashray Gowda; Joslyn Gracias

doi:10.26706/ijceae.7.4.20260801

Abstract

To improve search and rescue operations in emergencies and catastrophic situations, autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based rescue response systems have gained considerable attention. Conventional rescue techniques pose risks to human responders, result in slow reaction times, and suffer from restricted accessibility. Autonomous UAV rescue response systems emphasize critical tasks such as path planning, human recognition, obstacle avoidance, and autonomous navigation. This review analyzes current system architectures and algorithms while highlighting operational challenges including battery constraints, environmental unpredictability, and the absence of standardized evaluation measures. As autonomous intelligence and energy efficiency continue to advance, these systems are expected to significantly improve emergency response, medical infrastructure, and last-mile delivery services.

Keywords

UAV VTOL Autonomous Navigation Object Detection Emergency Response

References

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[1] K. Gupta, L. K. Awasthi, and R. Kumar, “UAV-Based Surveillance Systems: A Review,” International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 123–129, 2017.

[2] S. Waharte and N. Trigoni, “Supporting Search and Rescue Operations with UAVs,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Emerging Security Technologies, 2010.

[3] Y. Zeng, R. Zhang, and T. J. Lim, “Wireless Communications with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Opportunities and Challenges,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 54, no. 5, pp. 36–42, 2016.

[4] I. Bekmezci, O. K. Sahingoz, and S. Temel, “Flying Ad-Hoc Networks (FANETs): A Survey,” Ad Hoc Networks, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 1254–1270, 2013.

[5] P. Corke, R. Peterson, and D. Rus, “Networked Robots: Flying Robot Navigation Using a Sensor Net,” in Proc. 11th Int. Symp. Robotics Research, 2003.

[6] H. Menouar, I. Güvenc, K. Akkaya, A. S. Uluagac, A. Kadri, and A. Tuncer, “UAV-Enabled Intelligent Transportation Systems for the Smart City: Applications and Challenges,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 22–28, 2017.

[7] J. Valente, D. Sanz, A. Barrientos, J. Del Cerro, and A. Ribeiro, “An Air-Ground Wireless Sensor Network for Crop Monitoring,” Sensors, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 6088–6108, 2011.

[8] K. P. Valavanis and G. J. Vachtsevanos, Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2015.

[9] A. Ollero and I. Maza, “Multiple UAV Cooperative Systems for Remote Sensing and Surveillance Missions,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 2007.

[10] B. R. Mahafza, Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, 2014.

[11] M. Erdelj, M. Król, and E. Natalizio, “Wireless Sensor Networks and Multi-UAV Systems for Natural Disaster Management,” Computer Networks, vol. 124, pp. 72–86, 2017.

[12] D. Floreano and R. J. Wood, “Science, Technology and the Future of Small Autonomous Drones,” Nature, vol. 521, pp. 460–466, 2015.

[13] M. Dorling, J. Heinrichs, G. G. Messier, and S. Magierowski, “Vehicle Routing Problems for Drone Delivery,” IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 70–85, Jan. 2017.

[14] L. Merino, F. Caballero, J. R. Martínez-de-Dios, I. Maza, and A. Ollero, “An Unmanned Aircraft System for Automatic Forest Fire Monitoring and Measurement,” Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, vol. 65, nos. 1–4, pp. 533–548, 2012.

[15] A. R. Girard, A. S. Howell, and J. K. Hedrick, “Border Patrol and Surveillance Missions Using Multiple Unmanned Air Vehicles,” in Proc. IEEE Conf. Decision and Control, 2004.

[16] F. Nex and F. Remondino, “UAV for 3D Mapping Applications: A Review,” Applied Geomatics, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1–15, 2014.

[17] H. D. Yoo and S. M. Chankov, “Drone-Delivery Using Autonomous Mobility: An Innovative Approach to Future Last-Mile Delivery Problems,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), Bangkok, Thailand, 2018, pp. 1216–1220, doi:10.1109/IEEM.2018.8607829.

[18] A. W. Talab, “Improving Communication Protocols Based on Crucial Data Transmission Security for IoT Techniques,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1–11, Mar. 2025.

[19] H. G. Ayoub et al., “Efficient Real-Time Key Generation for IoT Using Multidimensional Chaotic Maps,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 24–34, Mar. 2025.

[20] O. A. Abdaumran, “IoT-Enabled Real-Time Fault Monitoring in Overhead Power Lines Using ESP32 and Arduino Integrated Development,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 190–201, Aug. 2025.

[21] A. Sharma, P. Kumar, and R. Mishra, “Lightweight ECC-Based Hybrid Encryption for Resource-Constrained IoT Networks,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 45–53, 2024.

[22] M. Fatima, S. Ahmed, and K. Reddy, “Post-Quantum Hybrid Cryptography for Secure-Cloud Continuum,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 12–21, 2025.

[23] V. Patel, N. Desai, and S. Kaur, “Blockchain-Enhanced Security Framework for IoT-Fog Networks: A Performance Analysis,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 78–89, 2025.

[24] R. Kumar, A. Singh, and P. Gupta, “An Optimized RSA-ElGamal Hybrid Cryptosystem for Smart Healthcare IoT Applications,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 22–31, 2026.

[25] H. N. Jumaah, “Embedded Reversibility Data in an Encrypted Photograph: A Case Study,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 73–79, Sep. 2024.

[26] N. K. Younis, M. H. Qahtan, and M. R. Ahmed, “A Review of Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Medical Image Enhancement,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 98–107, Jun. 2025.

[27] Y. M. Abdall, “AI-Driven Privacy Shield: A Learning Framework,” International Journal of Computational and Electronic Aspects in Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 180–189, 2025.