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A User-Triggered UAV Dispatching System for Precise and Timely Mountain Search Missions

Mingyang Wang, Yi Hong, Tungchak Lee, Ashwin Sundar, Kevin Hung, Qubeijian Wang, Yalin Liu

arXiv:2610.11130v1eess.SYcs.SY

TL;DR

Hikers’ phone records can provide clues for mountain searches, but existing services do not directly turn them into operator-supervised UAV missions. This paper links mobile collection, ground-station management, and UAV search; simulations, software tests, and outdoor trials report successful route execution, record handling, and image collection.

  • Problem

    Hikers’ route, location, and assistance records can inform mountain searches, but existing services leave operators to interpret disparate records and plan aerial searches manually.

    Source: §I · p. 1

  • Method

    The system synchronizes smartphone records to the cloud for operator verification and route scheduling, then dispatches a UAV to execute the approved mission and collect status, phone records, and video.

    Source: §I · p. 1, §II · p. 2, §IV · p. 7

  • Results

    Simulations completed waypoint routes and returned to the launch site, software tests verified timeout and phone-record transfer behavior, and outdoor trials demonstrated autonomous flight and useful downward-facing imagery.

    Source: 4) Simulation results · p. 6, 1) Location-update timeout decisions · p. 6, D. Outdoor UAV Tests · p. 6

  • Takeaways & Limitations

    The reported prototype turns available hiker smartphone information into actionable UAV missions to support more timely and precise mountain searches.

    Source: §I · p. 2, §IV · p. 7

    End-to-end field tests in mountain environments with intermittent connectivity, including transmission success and response latency, remain future work.

    Source: §IV · p. 7

Abstract

from arXiv · show

Smartphones carried by hikers routinely record routes, locations, and requests for assistance, and these records can provide precise clues for mountain search. However, they are rarely transformed in a direct and timely way into unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions that support search and rescue. This paper presents a user-triggered UAV dispatching system that integrates mobile information collection, ground station mission management, and UAV search into a single workflow. In our system, a mobile application is designed to continuously track user records and synchronize these records to the cloud database, thereby initiating all subsequent search events and UAV-dispatch missions. A control platform is developed to retrieve records from the cloud database for operator verification and mission scheduling. A UAV prototype is implemented to execute the approved mission, follow waypoints, report status, relay phone records when available, and record downward-facing video for later inspection. Simulations are conducted for UAV-dispatching missions using a terrain-following flight altitude of $80$~m above ground level and demonstrate successful route generation, ordered waypoint traversal, and return to the launch site for landing of the UAV dispatching. Local software tests verified timeout detection with a 1s threshold and phone-record transfer from the mobile application through the UAV to the ground station. Outdoor trials showed that the UAV could fly autonomously and capture downward-facing imagery in which a person, a nearby footpath, and surrounding vegetation were clearly discernible, providing visual cues for operator assessment and further inspection of the search area.

I. INTRODUCTION

Hikers’ phone records can guide mountain searches, but existing services leave operators to interpret disparate records and plan aerial searches manually. The paper connects those records to an operator-supervised UAV workflow.

I. INTRODUCTION

  • Existing services provide hiking information, but operators must interpret disparate records and plan aerial searches manually; no direct operator-supervised pipeline links user information to dispatch.Mountain terrain and sparse infrastructure also degrade mobile coverage in country parks.Source: §I · p. 1
  • Prior work spans localization, sensing, UAV cooperation, and mission management, but does not address dispatch from hiking records in mountains with intermittent connectivity,,, [10],,,,,.Source: §I · p. 1
  • The mobile application supports Event Booking, Quick Start, and SOS modes, with timeout handling and anomaly alerts that drive search events and UAV routes.Source: §I · p. 1
  • The authors report that smartphone information can become actionable UAV missions, reducing reaction time and supporting more precise mountain searches.Source: §I · p. 2

II. SYSTEM DESIGN

  • The proposed system connects smartphone information collection, cloud event management, operator verification and scheduling, and UAV search in three stages.The stages cover record tracking and event creation, mission scheduling, and UAV execution and recording.Source: §II · p. 2

A. Stage 1: User Record Tracking and Search Event Creation

Stage 1 collects hiking records through three mobile-app modes and synchronizes them to the cloud. An operator reviews the records before deciding whether to create a search event.

A. Stage 1: User Record Tracking and Search Event Creation

1) User records from three service modes:

2) Search event creation:

Search events begin with mode-specific notices, followed by operator assessment of the user’s records. Confirmed events retain relevant records for route generation and await dispatch.

2) Search event creation:

  • The platform raises a notice when an Event Booking trip is overdue, Quick Start GPS updates time out, or an SOS request arrives.Source: 2) Search event creation · p. 3
  • The operator assesses the records, attempts to contact the user and, if needed, an emergency contact, then confirms or closes the notice.Source: 2) Search event creation · p. 3
  • A confirmed event retains the planned route, GPS history, or SOS position, while original records remain reviewable and the event waits in the pending queue for dispatch and route confirmation.Source: 2) Search event creation · p. 3

B. Stage 2: Search Mission Scheduling

Stage 2 turns verified records into candidate UAV routes for operator review and confirmation. Once dispatched, the UAV reports status, relays available phone records, and stores video for later review.

B. Stage 2: Search Mission Scheduling

  • The control platform converts a selected event’s planned route, GPS history, or SOS request into a candidate waypoint route for operator review.Source: B. Stage 2: Search Mission Scheduling · p. 3
  • Mode 1 preserves the planned hiking route, Mode 2 orders GPS-history waypoints from earliest to latest while retaining repeated records, and Mode 3 uses an expanding-square spiral centered on the SOS position.Source: B. Stage 2: Search Mission Scheduling · p. 3
  • The operator confirms dispatch after reviewing the map and user records; unconfirmed events remain pending, and confirmed mission parameters and waypoints are sent to the UAV.Source: B. Stage 2: Search Mission Scheduling · p. 3

C. Stage 3: UAV Mission Execution and Recording

1) Mission execution and status reporting:

The UAV executes approved missions by visiting waypoints in order, reporting progress, and returning to launch when requested. It can also relay phone records and record video for post-flight review.

1) Mission execution and status reporting:

  • The UAV converts geographic waypoints into navigation goals, visits them in order after arrival and hover checks, then returns to launch and requests landing when RTL is enabled.Operational telemetry reports mission acceptance, transit, waypoint arrivals, and landing requests to the ground station.Source: 1) Mission execution and status… · p. 3

2) Phone-record collection and relay:

  • At waypoints, users can upload SOS data and updated GPS coordinates, which the UAV stores with metadata and forwards after the mission for acknowledgment or retransmission.The UAV repeats a record transfer until the ground station acknowledges it.Source: 2) Phone-record collection and relay · p. 3

3) Flight video recording:

  • The downward-facing camera records ground video along the route for operator review of people and their surroundings alongside received phone records.The paper says this combination supports situational awareness and more informed search decisions.Source: 3) Flight video recording · p. 3

III. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION

The implementation and evaluation cover the mobile application and cloud database, with evaluation also spanning simulations, local software verification, and outdoor flight trials.

III. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION

  • The system evaluation comprises search mission simulations, local software verification, and outdoor flight trials.Source: §III · p. 3

1) The mobile application and cloud database:

2) Control platform:

The control platform provides a workspace for operator review and dispatch, while the UAV combines onboard mission processing, flight control, and communication components. Simulations assess the mission flight cycle across all three modes.

2) Control platform:

  • The control platform brings map visualization, user records, mission controls, and UAV status monitoring into one workspace for route review and dispatch confirmation.It displays waypoints after an event is selected and tracks mission progress during execution.Source: 2) Control platform · p. 4

3) The UAV prototype:

  • The UAV prototype combines an onboard computer for mission processing and recording, a Pixhawk 4 Mini for low-level flight control, and Wi-Fi communication with the ground station.It also uses a depth camera for obstacle avoidance and path planning, a downward-facing camera for ground imaging, and a remote-control link for manual intervention.Source: 3) The UAV prototype · p. 4

B. Simulation of Search Missions

1) Simulation scenario:

The simulations use a shared Sai Kung target to compare three route patterns based on different user records: planned waypoints, a stored GPS history, and an expanding-square search.

1) Simulation scenario:

  • The simulations use Sai Kung terrain and a shared target selected under distance, elevation, land, and route-clearance constraints.The selected target is approximately 177.44 m elevation, and the common target enables direct comparison of mission behavior across modes.Source: 1) Simulation scenario · pp. 4–5

2) Routes for the three modes:

  • Mode 1 traverses three planned waypoints at 27%, 63%, and 100% of the launch-to-target baseline before returning to launch.The waypoints have lateral offsets of 210 m left, 150 m right, and 0 m from the baseline, respectively.Source: 2) Routes for the three modes · p. 5
  • Mode 2 follows a stored GPS history of 15 samples along a half-sine-detoured route, ordered using timestamps generated at a walking speed of 1 m/s, then returns to launch.All samples are available before dispatch; the detour reaches a maximum lateral offset of 210 m.Source: 2) Routes for the three modes · p. 5
  • Mode 3 follows a counterclockwise expanding-square spiral with 18 waypoints plus the centre point, then returns to launch.The spiral starts 30 m east of the centre and increases leg length by 30 m every two legs, ending when an endpoint is at least 200 m from the centre.Source: 2) Routes for the three modes · p. 5

3) Flight settings:

The simulations test UAV missions under fixed terrain-following flight settings and report successful waypoint-ordered execution and return to launch across three modes.

3) Flight settings:

  • The UAV maintained a terrain-following altitude of 80 m above ground level, with horizontal and vertical speeds limited to 15 and 3 m/s, respectively.It hovered for 5 s at each waypoint and after returning to launch; flight timing excluded operator verification, dispatch operations, and communication delays.Source: 3) Flight settings · p. 5

4) Simulation results:

  • Fig. 4 combines 3D mission paths, plan views, and target-area insets, distinguishing outbound and user-route traversal, spiral search, and return-and-landing segments.The shared launch origin and east/north axes span −1.5 to 5.5 km.Source: 4) Simulation results · pp. 5–6
  • All three modes visited waypoints in intended order and landed at launch, with takeoff-to-landing times of 715.7, 764.1, and 1008.5 s for Modes 1, 2, and 3, respectively.The modes followed a planned route, reconstructed GPS history in time order, and completed an expanding-square spiral search, respectively.Source: 4) Simulation results · p. 6

C. Local Software Verification

Local software tests checked Mode 2 timeout decisions and phone-record relay, confirming the configured timeout boundary and end-to-end record handling.

C. Local Software Verification

1) Location-update timeout decisions:

  • With a 1 s threshold, Mode 2 timed out at 1.000 and 1.001 s but not at 0.999 s.Timeouts therefore occurred when elapsed time reached the configured threshold, not before.Source: 1) Location-update timeout decisions · p. 6

2) Phone-record reception and relay:

  • Relayed records retained identical SOS coordinates, GPS logs, user identifiers, and mission associations across endpoints; missing acknowledgments triggered retransmission, and foreign mission messages were ignored.The simulated transfer proceeded from the mobile application through UAV software to the ground station, which archived the record and acknowledged receipt.Source: 2) Phone-record reception and relay · p. 6

D. Outdoor UAV Tests

Outdoor trials demonstrated autonomous UAV flight and image capture for operator review, while the conclusion identifies further evaluations needed in mountain conditions.

D. Outdoor UAV Tests

  • The outdoor trial showed the UAV autonomously reaching the search area and capturing imagery of a person, nearby footpath, and surrounding vegetation for operator assessment.Saved images also support post-flight review of personnel and the surrounding environment.Source: D. Outdoor UAV Tests · p. 6

IV. CONCLUSION

  • The system links hikers’ route, GPS-history, and SOS records to operator-verified search events and reviewed flight routes, followed by approved UAV execution and image recording.The prototype evaluation included software tests of timeout handling and record transfer, as well as outdoor field trials.Source: §IV · pp. 6–7
  • End-to-end mountain tests under intermittent connectivity, data-transmission success, response latency, GPS energy use, and UAV endurance and coverage remain future evaluations.The planned work also includes route planning that accounts for battery reserves, communication availability, and uncertainty in user locations.Source: §IV · p. 7
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