Scientists Are Teaching Drones To Hunt Down Human Screams (washingtonpost.com) 73
If someone created a flying machine capable of tracking you down by listening for your voice, you might be creeped out. But what if you were pinned under a pile of rubble after a natural disaster and first responders couldn't locate you? Maybe then a human-seeking drone wouldn't be such a terrible idea. From a report: That concept is the focus for engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer FKIE institute, who've built a drone prototype designed to find people by detecting human screams and listening for other signs of distress. One of the lead engineers, Macarena Varela, showcased their progress last week at an annual conference hosted by the Acoustic Society of America. While it's easy to imagine human-seeking drones in a sci-fi horror movie, Varela says the gadget would be ideal for post-disaster scenarios, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires. They could hover over an area that rescue crews have difficulty getting to and pinpoint where people may be trapped.
"[Drones] can cover a larger area in a shorter period of time than rescuers or trained dogs on the ground," Varela said. "If there's a collapsed building, it can alert and assist rescuers. It can go places they can't fly to or get to themselves." Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are commonly used for search-and-rescue missions when disasters strike. Most often, they take aerial images of structural damage. Some have thermal imaging capabilities to scan for body heat, while larger drones can deliver medical supplies and other goods to people in isolated areas. But researchers are finding more novel uses for an extra set of eyes in the sky -- and noses. The University of Washington imagines drones that use smell to locate disaster survivors. The Aerospace Corporation is working on drones that can visually identify dogs and share their location with rescue teams. The University of Zurich developed a drone to change shape midflight to fit into oddly shaped crevices. Locating people using aerial acoustics presents its share of challenges. An auditory system would need to decipher between human cries and sounds that often happen in nature, such as animal calls and wind. It might also need to recognize patterns associated with kicking, clapping or other ways people try to get the attention of rescue teams.
"[Drones] can cover a larger area in a shorter period of time than rescuers or trained dogs on the ground," Varela said. "If there's a collapsed building, it can alert and assist rescuers. It can go places they can't fly to or get to themselves." Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are commonly used for search-and-rescue missions when disasters strike. Most often, they take aerial images of structural damage. Some have thermal imaging capabilities to scan for body heat, while larger drones can deliver medical supplies and other goods to people in isolated areas. But researchers are finding more novel uses for an extra set of eyes in the sky -- and noses. The University of Washington imagines drones that use smell to locate disaster survivors. The Aerospace Corporation is working on drones that can visually identify dogs and share their location with rescue teams. The University of Zurich developed a drone to change shape midflight to fit into oddly shaped crevices. Locating people using aerial acoustics presents its share of challenges. An auditory system would need to decipher between human cries and sounds that often happen in nature, such as animal calls and wind. It might also need to recognize patterns associated with kicking, clapping or other ways people try to get the attention of rescue teams.
Didn't work as designed (Score:2, Funny)
Better ways (Score:4, Funny)
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Spiders? Is it spiders?
Re:Better ways (Score:4, Interesting)
As a non-parent, I have no idea how to tell the difference between children having fun and children murdering each other by sound alone.
Perhaps those two categories overlap.
Re: Better ways (Score:2)
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I was at a teenager at a waterpark going down their biggest slide when I let out a loud scream as I hopped on and disappeared down a tube. It wasn't a scream of terror or pain, but one of excitement. After my grand splash in the water a couple of employees were rushing towards me thinking something bad had happened. They even scolded me.
It didn't occur to me at the time but maybe people had been hurt before which could explain why they were so quick to think I might have been. I was fine, but I think a coup
Re: Better ways (Score:2)
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There are better ways to locate childrens playgrounds.
Follow Joe Biden?
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The above comment might be meant in jest, but it makes a valid point People scream not simply out of fear, but also will scream when they are simply excited or enjoying themselves.
And it's sad to say that this ambiguity can have disastrous consequences. Honestly, if something like this can mitigate violent crime even a little bit. I'd call that a good thing.
Makes it all the easier to finish them off. (Score:1)
#Skynet
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Phantasm II [youtu.be] knew the future.
A Quiet Place? (Score:5, Insightful)
I know this was supposedly set up for rescue purposes, but the idea of drones hunting down human screams sounds like something straight from a sci-fi horror movie.
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Maybe we can get a remastered version [wikipedia.org] using drones?
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It's a great feedback device for military drones: if the drone hears screams, it means the job is not finished.
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Headline of the year. No question.
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Yeah, terrible headline, and probably intentional for the click-bait factor.
"Scientist are teaching drones to locate humans in distress" gives a much less creepy vibe. Still stupidly anthropomorphized, but whatever.
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I don't know... even with that headline, my mind jumps immediately to the military applications.
Well programmed drones would more likely wound than kill. A wounded enemy is a demoralized enemy that ties down at least one other unwounded enemy and is going to drain resources for weeks while they heal.
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Well programmed drones would more likely wound than kill. A wounded enemy is a demoralized enemy that ties down at least one other unwounded enemy and is going to drain resources for weeks while they heal.
Sure, but in that case you want to program your drones to hunt down the people who aren't screaming. Injuring someone who is already injured doesn't gain you much, especially if your goal was lots of injured-but-alive troops rather than just killing them outright.
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That is a good point.
While snipers typically would wound the first person to draw others in to be shot this scenario is different.
It might help locate troops who were with the wounded target but it seems likely you would already know they were there since you wounded the person in the first place.
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"Don't scream... they are always listening..."
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I know this was supposedly set up for rescue purposes, but the idea of drones hunting down human screams sounds like something straight from a sci-fi horror movie.
It would definitely help them to swarm...
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"I know this was supposedly set up for rescue purposes, but the idea of drones hunting down human screams sounds like something straight from a sci-fi horror movie."
Indeed. If they don't detect anything, how long will it take for them to realize that they can MAKE people scream.
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"The drones! We've lost connection to them, sir! They've gone to onboard and networked search-and-destroy!"
"So you're saying that we've unleashed zombie drones on the park..."
heat sources, CO2 would be better (Score:2)
Why not cheap CO2 and infrared sensors?
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It seems like something that could be a reasonable idea to a layperson. Just stating that it's not true without any elaboration because you don't like the way he put forth the idea adds very little to the conversation, and you also managed to be a jerk while doing so.
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eh, resources are limited. at some point, even on slashdot, you have to draw the line. and then, below that line, there's another line where you start insulting them pour encourager les autres.
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Why not all the things? Maybe CO2 and infrared are not sufficient on their own since they are not unique properties to humans?
Methods (Score:2)
Step 1 was to teach the drones to hunt down human screams. With officials and those holding the pursestrings questioning the costs involved and whether the drones could operate effectively in a non-laboratory setting, the researchers promised a series of software updates designed to improve the overall success rate. And, sure enough, with another few months of training their latest batch of drones achieved a 99% success rate at locating screaming humans. It's been posited that arming the drones and giving t
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Problem with taking out the target's legs is that they will just keep screaming.
Exactly! As this new round of drones has definitively proven, they are more than capable of locating screaming humans, usually even before the screaming begins.
Scream detection could be very useful (Score:5, Interesting)
I always thought an industrial safety cutoff switch triggered by screams would be a very useful device.
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Hey, you guys gotta stop having surprise parties in the breakroom, you keep shutting down the warehouse!
The Clapper (Score:2)
When I was a little kid my grandma had one in her living room. I would run by the room and yell into the room and run away over and over turning the lights on/off repeatedly with the adults getting increasingly pissy.
I see this being used as a new way to SWAT...
Training (Score:2)
Hope they have better luck than me (Score:5, Funny)
I think the tech was viable but you wouldn't believe the amount of pushback I got from the ethics committee over my data collection methods!!
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Ethics committee... there's your problem right there...
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Ethics committee... there's your problem right there...
Partly, I mean they themselves provided good data. But I needed a more diverse subject group beyond them for my models to work in the general population.
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yup, username checks out.
"many machines on ix. new machines..."
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+1
What could possibly go wrong? (Score:4, Insightful)
I've lived long enough now to see dystopian sci-fi becoming reality before our very eyes.
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The three certain things in life. DTD (Death,Taxes,Dystopias)
skynet! (Score:2)
skynet!
The Empire already has these (Score:2)
So Screamers, you're creating Screamers (Score:2)
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The Germans..... (Score:2)
So much cooler if the headline had said instead (Score:2)
You know where this wouldn't work? (Score:4, Funny)
In space.
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Noice!
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I don't remember where I read this, but someone once said 'For a movie that takes place in a place where no one can hear you scream they sure made a lot of noise' (or something like that)
Might work for military tunnel clearance (Score:2)
What can reach the good guys may reach the bad sort too.
A sensor mix hunting speech, CO2 and other telltale noise could find bunkered hostiles safely vs sending human "tunnel rats" into traps.
Re: Might work for military tunnel clearance (Score:1)
Target Acquired! (Score:2)
So they have a better idea (Score:1)
Obvious military applications (Score:1)
To ensure wounded soldiers are exterminated or find people giving aid to wounded soldiers and wound or exterminate them.
Drones: Cause of and cure of all life's problems (Score:2)
Now it is "Hunt Down Human Screams" (Score:2)
Line between Hero and Villain (Score:2)
I mean really, I know this is supposed to be a good thing, but doesn't that headline read like something from shown in the intro to a Terminator movie?
Re: Line between Hero and Villain (Score:1)
There's an old joke in SAR (Score:2)
If there's a chance you might be in an earthquake, keep hot dogs in your pocket so the disaster search dogs will know where to find you.
Depending on the scream... (Score:2)
About an hour after I get to my girlfriend's apartment on a Friday night, I wouldn't be surprised to find a bunch of these bastards hovering outside her bedroom window.
Apple Tags (Score:1)
Re: Apple Tags (Score:1)
Yet another step closer... (Score:2)
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How about this for a more realistic dystopian scenario: Extreme weather events become so frequent, intense & destructive that we can no longer cope with the human casualties. Our illustrious & all-knowing, all-wise billionaire leaders, e.g. the Kochs, Buffett, Gates, Page & Brin, Musk, Bezos, & Zuckerberg, decide that it's more expedient to simply put victims out of their misery. A final & necessary solution if you will. These drones, armed with lethal injection darts or human seeking mi