SWIFTERS: A Multi-UAV Platform for Disaster Management

In this paper we present SWIFTERS, a technology platform for utilising multiple UAVs in disaster management. The platform aims to provide fast situational awareness and improve the effectiveness of disaster management operations by exploiting UAV deployment opportunities. The platform allows flying UAVs in a click-and-go fashion, scanning an area using multiple collaborating UAVs while receiving live video feed from the camera of the UAVs' to detect people, vehicles and carry out visual disaster assessment. This paper provides evidence of the reliability and scalability of the SWIFTERS platform in a real-life experiment with four UAVs.