North Shore Rescue announces new sensors for SAR missions

In Canada, Remote GeoSystems, North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters have announced the successful deployment of a video/infrared camera system on an Airbus TwinStar (AS355) for search and rescue (SAR) missions – a geoDVR Gen2 with a FLIR daylight EO/IR gyro-stabilised video camera.

The system allows recording of multiple channels of video in colour and infrared, along with continuous GPS and mapping data.

“Adding the FLIR camera to North Shore Rescue’s toolbox has been a great enhancement to NSR’s capabilities. Having the ability to record and geo-track the location of the video seemed essential to maximising the full potential of the FLIR camera. The geoDVR allows searchers to review recorded video for clues that may or may not have been observed during the flight,” said Jim Loree, North Shore Rescue SAR manager and air operations co-ordinator. “This feature could also be highly valuable in a large-scale disaster, such as an earthquake, where widespread areas are surveyed for damage. Emergency Operation Centers would be able to use the data to help them make decisions on where and how to deploy resources based on the exact location and extent of damages provided by the video recording.”

North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters will use the system with a FLIR camera donated by the Port of Vancouver to perform helicopter-based SAR operations with colour and infrared. Then, using LineVision software post-flight, North Shore Rescue will review the geoDVR videos and flight tracks overlaid on Google Earth and Esri maps for training mission planning and recovery operations.

Since North Shore Rescue is an all volunteer organisation, Remote GeoSystems donated 18 LineVision Esri Maps and LineVision Google Earth licences as part of the implementation.