Hiker has been missing for nearly a year – until the AI system realizes his helmet
How long has it been To determine the helmets of hikers lost in 183 hectares of mountainous areas, analysing 2,600 frames taken from a drone about 50 meters away? If done with the human eye, weeks or months. If it is analyzed through an artificial intelligence system, it will be an afternoon. The national Alpine and speleological Rescue Corps, known by the Italian initialist CNSAS, rely on AI to find the body of a missing person in the Piedmont region of Italy to the north of Monviso, the highest peak in Cottian Alps in September 2024.
According to Saverio Isela, the CNSAS drone pilot intervened with colleague Giorgio Viana, the operation, which included finding any signs of missing hikers, finding and recovering their bodies, and shutdowns due to bad weather, were in less than three days.
Recovery operation
Leaning on the ground, his gaze fixed on the hill 600 meters below the top of the mountain, the body of 64-year-old Ligurian doctor Nicola Ivaldo disappeared for more than 10 months on Thursday morning, thanks to his helmet clashing with other landscapes.
“It was the AI software that identified some pixels of different colors in the images taken on Tuesday.” Isela explained that the reconstructed step-by-step reconstruction operation led to the discovery and recovery of remains at about 3,150 meters, about 3,150 meters, in the rightmost ravine of the three ravines, which hang broad tolerance above from the North of Monviso in Monviso.
The team collected all images in five hours on Tuesday morning, July 29 with just two drones and analyzed them using AI software on the same afternoon. By that night, rescuers had already had a series of “suspicious attractions” for inspection. The next day, there was only fog and bad weather delayed the operation.
“We woke up at 4 a.m. and reached a very distant point with good visibility on the channel where the red pixels were detected, and we used the drone to see if it was indeed a helmet,” Isla said. “We then took all the necessary photos and measurements to send the information to the Rescue Coordination Center, which was then able to dispatch the fire brigade’s helicopter for recovery and police operations.”
The role of AI
Each drone operation is part of a rigorous approach to coordinate development by CNSA with ENAC, the national agency responsible for civil aviation. “We’ve been using drones for about five years and for about a year and a half, we’ve been integrating color and shape recognition technologies to develop them monthly,” Isela explains. “But, without a team of technicians, all of this is useless.”
Information from Ivaldo phones is immediately invaluable. The experience and knowledge of four professional mountain rescuers helped two drone pilots navigating the area. “It’s a human achievement, but without technology, it would be an impossible task. It’s a team’s success.”
