The drone company, DJI, has released a report showing multiple instances that people have been rescued by drones during the last year. The drone manufacturing giant stated that at least 65 people have been saved using drone technology.  The report comprises of incidents from five continents, including the rescue of climbers stranded on mountains. Drones were also used to drop inflatable devices to people in the ocean who were about to drown. Drones with thermal imaging were also used to find injured people in densely wooded areas.

After a car crash in Lincolnshire, UK. Police arrived at the scene of the accident after dark and could not find the driver. With the use of a drone that was outfitted with a thermal imaging camera, they were able to find the driver unconscious in a nearby ditch.  The report highlighted the usefulness of thermal imaging technology and its widespread adoption by emergency rescue teams.

During the last year, cameras with thermal imaging were attached to drones and used to save the lives of about 15 people who were hidden from the view of emergency workers as a result of darkness or obstacles such as trees, roods and other coverage. These cameras were also able to find victims hidden by dust or smoke in burning structures and disaster areas.

As emergency rescue teams continuously embrace drones that are outfitted with thermal technology, the number of rescues will certainly rise in the next few years.  DJI’s report is part of a bigger push by the company to encourage positive public opinion and steer it away from negative stories involving drones. They want the focus to be about the benefits that the technology can offer and not the disadvantages.  Drones will enable emergency workers to find lost people, deliver medicine, food, and lifesaving supplies, and reduce search and rescue response time by a huge margin noted VP of Policy and Legal Affairs at DJI, Brendan Schulman.

A company called ZipLine located in Rwanda is even using fixed-wing drones to deliver medical supplies to rural areas in the country. The deliveries have helped reduce the emergency supply time frame from days to minutes. This has saved multiples lives and provided treatment for many people who would have otherwise not received medical attention in a timely matter.

At the moment though, regulations in various countries do not allow drone operators to fly drones out of the line of sight forcing emergency responders to either disregard the rule or await exemptions. During the next few years, we can expect the FAA and other regulation organizations to start expanding the use of drones during emergency situations to help save more lives.