NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Self-Navigating Automated Drone

Objective: 

Developing a self-navigating automated drone that has the sole capability of finding an area in which it can send a simple message could greatly improve the world for civilians; however, there are notable applications for both civilians and the military. 

Background: 

In the event that a civilian is hiking, driving, or for some other reason alone in an area in which there is no cell service, issues arise if said civilian were to get injured. Under these circumstances, the civilian would typically need to wait for someone to notice they were gone, and then send help. Even then, no one knows the exact location of the injured civilian, or what circumstances he is in. If the civilian were to have a small, self-navigating drone in his backpack, he would be able to input the type of emergency services he needs and get help hours sooner.

Methodology: 

 For example, the injured civilian could say he needs medical services, and the drone would fly up above the trees and travel out in a spiral until it connects to cell service, then send the civilian’s location to the police (in a latitude and longitude format of where the drone departed), along with the type of emergency services the civilian needs. Similarly, the civilian could send emergency contacts, etc. in the drone’s message so the emergency services know who to contact for the civilian. After the drone has completed its message, it will fly back to the civilian and provide a message transmitted signal.

Expected Difficulties: 

It is anticipated that the most difficult part of this project will be determining how the raspberry pi sends the signal. It is planned now that the microprocessor will use the SMS network; however, the pi will likely not be connected to the internet. Therefore, it will be a challenge to complete this part.

Expected Results: 

This project will hopefully improve emergency services in areas that are remote.

Costs: