This rescue drone finds lost people by picking up their phone signal

In an emergency, a mobile phone can be the device that saves you, even if you aren’t able to make a call. A drone developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne can pinpoint the location of a mobile phone by picking up its Wi-Fi signal. The drone, which was first reported by Robohub, can pick out the location of an individual phone within 30 feet.

Search and rescue operations are increasingly using drones, and the speed and ease with which UAVs can be launched is especially important when applying them as an emergency response tool. Jonathan Cheseaux, a masters student from Switzerland has developed a system to help drones home in on the location of people in need of rescue, and Dronologista had an opportunity to discuss the project with Jonathan via email.