Advanced AI System Turns Sherlock, Finds Missing Hiker After Nearly A Year By Spotting His Helmet

“A Hiker Was Missing for Nearly a Year—Until an AI System Recognized His Helmet”

“In the high mountains of Colorado, things can disappear easily—people especially. The rugged, forested terrain, with peaks jutting up over 14,000 feet, often draws hikers, mountaineers, and skiers. It also makes it enormously difficult for law enforcement or volunteers to find those who go missing.”

In the ever challenging Rockies of Colorado, vanishing acts aren’t confined to illustrious magic shows. The sprawling forests, towering peaks, and sinewy ski trails create a multifaceted landscape that seems to consume wayward explorers like a ravenous beast. Even the most well-intentioned search parties can feel like they’re navigating through a labyrinth designed by a manic elf with an affinity for hide-and-seek.

Enter, stage right, the modern hero—an AI-enabled drone. And no, not one of those butterfly-like gadgets that dive-bomb family picnics. These drones are equipped with artificial intelligence, ready to wage techno-warfare against the perplexing intricacies of tracking missing persons in challenging terrains.

The idea is gothically simple: craft a drone, implant it with AI and camera systems, and program the teeny robot to find humans lost in difficult-to-search areas. These flying comrades need nothing more than clear objectives and ample battery life to disperse into the wilderness. Like a hawk eyeing its prey, these AI-powered drones can cover vast distances, sweeping across terrains with optical recognition systems fit to locate a needle in a haystack, or in this case, a hiker on a cliff.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Although AI and image recognition technology are making leaps and bounds in simulated settings, the wild outdoors has a knack for throwing curveballs at theoretical models. Windy conditions, pesky wildlife, and camouflaging foliage stand between drones and their successful utilization in search-and-rescue missions.

Feasible or not, the integration of AI in search and rescue missions is gaining traction as a subject of debate. Does entrusting life-and-death situations to cold, calculated code add a spark of dystopian dread to the future of search and rescue? Perhaps. The science-fiction compass may be pointing a tad north of comfortable.

Wait, is that an adventurous hiker disappearing into the depths of Colorado’s wilderness? Well, fear not, for the ever-vigilant AI drone might be watching from above, ready to swoop in and save the day.

Or it might be stuck in a tree somewhere. Because ironically, sometimes even AI drones tend to act like…well, drones. Only this time, it won’t be a carelessly tossed Frisbee to blame, but the uncompromising laws of physics and software glitches.

Who knew the tech world could have a taste for gallows humor?

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/missing-hiker-ai-drone-recovery/