The Department of Homeland Security‘s science and technology directorate is developing a software that will work to aid first responders in search and rescue operations.DHS said Thursday S&T’s first responders group has collaborated with search and rescue research company dbS Productions to build the FIND software that will help locate lost individuals through behavioral pattern statistics from approximately 150,000 past lost person cases.
“[FIND] compiles the data on where the person is most likely to be found, based on the common patterns and behaviors of those lost and in distress,†said S&T Program Manager Angela Ervin.
The FIND application is designed to help create behavior profiles based on a person’s health status, age, experience, access to survival gear and other factors, DHS noted.
DHS added FIND does not require internet connectivity and the app features a pre-packaged mapping system.
S&T’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory worked with the sheriff’s office in Deschutes County, Oregon to conduct an operational field assessment of FIND through a fictional plane crash scenario, DHS said.
User feedback from the OFA helped transition FIND into the final development phase, DHS noted.
FIND is being developed as part of the Lost Person Locator project of S&T’s first responder group.
