Hong Kong aviation engineering high-fliers get down to earth to help rescue teams find lost hikers

Two aviation engineering graduates from Hong Kong, Max Lee Jwo-lem and Josua Chan Wing-hei, have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) program to assist in locating lost hikers. They established a start-up company, LifeSparrow Solutions, to pioneer this technology. The AI program they developed works in conjunction with drones to capture aerial images. The AI then analyses these images, identifying potential signs of lost hikers such as clothing or human silhouettes. This significantly speeds up the search process, as rescue teams no longer have to manually sift through thousands of images. The AI program reduces the time spent on each image to about two seconds, highlighting potential clues within a grid system to facilitate the search. The technology was put to the test in the search for a missing 17-year-old boy, Matthew Tsang Hin-chit, who was found safe after being missing for seven days. The pair started their venture in 2020, amidst the aviation industry's downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic. They initiated their project after learning that firefighters were seeking to enhance their search and rescue capabilities. They even embarked on numerous hikes to gather data on various terrains and to better understand the challenges faced by rescue teams. They plan to further improve their program by incorporating additional technologies such as infrared sensors and Wi-fi.