Aircraft Help First Responders, Others Make Critical Decisions During The Eruptions

The vice president for technology for Rocky Mountain Unmanned Systems Jon McBride recently returned from Hawaii, but his trip was not exactly an exotic vacation.

McBride has family on the island of Hawaii, where the Kilauea volcano has been erupting for several weeks. While McBride's family was not directly threatened by the lava flows, they did feel some of the impacts of the eruptions on the island.

But while he was there, McBride used drones to help out researchers, first responders and city officials, according to a report from television station KSL. He worked with the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue as well as the Hilo Fire Department and other agencies to provide data related to the lava flows.

The aircraft were able to track the flows and identify hotspots in areas where the magma was no longer glowing red but was still giving off significant heat. Thermal imagers and GPS positioning helped determine the direction and speed of the lava flows, assisting local officials in making decisions about evacuations.

Drones are also being used to identify roads that have been closed by lava flows and rerouting traffic around those areas.

(Image from Big Island Video News YouTube video)

FMI: Original report