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Ashvin Bashyam is a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) studying Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering, respectively. Together, Ashvin and Jacob Guggenheim have extensive experience in rapid prototyping, fabrication, real-time control systems, robotics, imaging systems, machine learning, and computer vision. Their passion for exploring and enjoying the outdoors combined with their interest in autonomous systems led to their founding of RASAR (Rapid Aerial Search and Rescue) in 2016. Their non-profit organization is focused on bringing unmanned aerial vehicles to the wilderness search and rescue community.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have found widespread use across numerous industries including surveillance, mapping border patrol, and agricultural imaging. Recent developments in microelectronics, flight control systems, and low cost imaging systems could enable practical wilderness search and rescue (SAR) with UAVs. Fixed wing UAVs, those where a rigid wing forms an airfoil, show exceptional promise as a tool to improve SAR outcomes.We first present a review of the major performance trade-offs between rotary wing and fixed wing UAVs. We then show experimental characterization of the flight, navigational, and imaging performance characteristics of fixed wing UAVs during wilderness SAR operations. Additionally, we present a mathematical framework and associated software tools to help design fixed wing UAVs for SAR. Finally, we close with recommendations for further development of fixed wing UAVs for wilderness