The "GrenzFlug+" project aims to make searching for missing persons across national borders something that can be carried out every day. A successful demonstration was carried out at the tri-border area.
A person is missing and the terrain is impassable, hilly, and wooded. But despite all that, the person is found quickly - without the need for a large number of emergency personnel, no volunteers had to be recruited for the search, no helicopter was needed, and no dog unit had to be requested. So what made this possible? Drones. Under the leadership of Professor Dieter Moormann from the Institute of Flight System Dynamics, a consortium consisting of RWTH, Tema AG, Vodafone AG, Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the Aachen City Region Fire Brigade and the City of Aachen has developed the GrenzFlug+ Using drones should make searching for missing persons something that can really be carried out on an everyday basis, even if national borders are in the way. 5G-networked unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can be used to search for the missing person even in difficult terrain such as low mountain ranges. In emergencies, the time it takes for the emergency services to arrive is of crucial importance for the chances of survival and the severity of injuries that a person suffers. For example, this can happen to people with dementia who get lost on cold nights in rough terrain and have an accident. In the future, UAS can make a decisive contribution to shortening the rescue time. The data recorded by the systems is made available to the emergency services in real time using virtual reality. The Grenzflug+ project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the mFund.
The Federal Minister of Transport, Dr. Volker Wissing, said: "Drones can save lives. They can make all the difference when missing persons need to be found in difficult terrain or vital medical supplies need to be transported from A to B. As an industrialized nation, we must therefore be open to the use of technology - especially with regard to the use of drones. Germany is at the forefront of this development. We want to further expand this pioneering role in unmanned flight. I am committed to expanding the use of drones for rescue purposes."
The effectiveness of the system has now been demonstrated across borders: On Wednesday afternoon, Oliver Krischer, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia, launched a rescue mission at the tri-border area of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, in which two drones operated in coordination with each other. "In recent years, the use of drones has become an indispensable part of aid and rescue operations of all kinds. Drones are fast and highly efficient, and they can reach areas that are difficult to access. For the first time, the Grenzflug+ project has made it possible to obtain operating licenses for cross-border flights using unmanned aircraft beyond visual range in accordance with the new EU regulations. It is a milestone in cross-border rescue," said the Minister.
"Unlike previous systems, Grenzflug+ can be safely integrated into the common airspace," explained Professor Dieter Moormann. "We developed this project to create a fully networked system that is integrated into the airspace, that is suitable for 24-hour regular operation and that automatically processes and forwards data," says Moormann. In addition to Ministerial Councillor Rudolf Boll and Daniel Phiesel (both BMDV), City Councillor Dr. Tim Grüttemeier, Aachen’s Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen, from the municipality of Vaals (NL), Luc Frank, Mayor of Kelmis (BE) and representatives of the fire departments were also present at the demonstration on Wednesday.
