09 NOV 2022

Trinity F90+ Disaster Relief Mission

Trinity F90+ UAV: Rapid Disaster Relief Mission In The Ahr Region

Quantum-Systems has joined the AIFER project (Artificial Intelligence for Emergency Response), to perform a mapping mission in the Ahr Valley, Germany. Several places of the Ahr valley were particularly hit by massive floods in the summer of 2021, including Altenburg, Altenahr, Reimerzhoven, Rech and Dernau. The affected area was surveyed with Trinity F90+, under the lead of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK).

The resulting maps and images are a powerful tool for prior and post- disaster assessment, which ease monitoring and documenting progress. The project’s data will also serve as a basis to develop artificial intelligence (AI) methods that automatically recognize information from satellite, drone data and social media, with the aim of compiling comprehensive up to date maps of disaster areas. The maps will provide rescue team with aerial intelligence, improving decision making processes. Precise aerial information will allow rescue teams to intervene faster and more efficiently, which can ultimately make a difference in the number of lives saved.

With a flight time of over 90 minutes, and the long range of up to 100 km, Trinity F90+ was the perfect tool for the mission in the Ahr region. To map the affected area, the rescue teams used the Oblique D2M payload, a powerful oblique imaging system. With five high-resolution, multidirectional RGB cameras the Oblique D2M captures complex geometries with ease.

The main advantage of using drone technology is the immediate data availability. Information and maps that offer an overview of a catastrophic environment are highly needed. In the event of a catastrophe accurate visual data can help rescuers to better coordinate missions.

Providing first responders with aerial intelligence
data to ease emergency operations is a top priority
for Quantum-Systems. It was our pleasure to join
the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the
Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) in this common goal.