UC02.1: Indoor Drone Exploration and Victim Detection (Firefighters)

Last modified by Tjalling Haije on 2025/09/15 09:25

Objective	OB01: Increase effectiveness through exploration, sensing and communication means OB04: Improve safety by providing overviews and warnings of environment conditions Deploy indoor drones to map fire zones, locate victims, and support tactical decisions before firefighter entry.
TDP	TDP1, TDP2, TDP4, TDP5
IDP	IDP1
Actors	Drone Operator, Analyst, Squad Leader, Firefighters (described at 4. Personas & Problem Scenarios and Direct Stakeholders)
Pre-Condition	Fire scene is active; indoor conditions are high-risk.
Post-Condition	Thermal map and victim locations shared; entry plan finalized.
Status	Validated during and refined after CFT 1, CFT 2, CFT 3

Deployment and Setup
a. Squad leader flags interior as unsafe for direct entry.
b. Drone team is called and moves up in vehicle
c. Drone team meets up with squad leader outside building
Exploration and Navigation
a. Drone enters building by being deployed from vehicle
b. Drone is used to build up SA of building and spot possible victims
c. Real-time feed transmitted to analyst at command truck.
Victim Detection and Manual Control
a. Analyst monitors 3d model of building and marks possible victims.
b. Operator can switch between autonomous exploration or manual control
c. Victim locations are confirmed and tagged.
Team Coordination and Decision Support
   a. Analyst updates 3d map and sends it to squad leader.
   b. Squad leader revises plan and briefs entry team.
   c. Firefighters enter with better spatial and thermal awareness.

Claims (title)	Function	Effect(s)	Action Sequence Step(s)
CL1 Increase SA pre-entry	Thermal camera, live drone feed, map overlay	Enables squad leader and command to understand hazard zones, heat signatures, and layout. Informs safer and more targeted entry plan. → Measured with SAGAT method and questionnaire. → Measure with mission planning accuracy or reduced entry errors.	2b, 3a, 4a
CL2 Heightened SA before entry	C3I mapping	Same as above	3c, 4a
CL3 Improved safety of firefighters inside	Drone maps hazard zones and structural integrity	Firefighter 5. Safety is improved as they can more easily avoid fire, heat, and collapse zones, leading to fewer responder injuries. → Measured with near incident analysis.	2a, 3b, 4b
CL4 Improved victim discovery & localization	Autonomous navigation	Victims are detected more quickly, accurately and robustly than when the robot is directly controlled by a human. → Measured with time until area mapped + victims correctly localized. Mental workload of drone operator and FR is low → measured with NASA TLX questionnaire.
CL5 Trustworthy SA	Analyst verifies and adds missing detections and victims	Trust (or reliance?) in SA is good → Measure with ??	4a, 4b
CL6 improved overall task performance	Integrated thermal imaging, analyst updates, safe entry	Results in quicker rescue operations with fewer injuries due to smarter planning and environment awareness. → Measure with rescue success rate and time-to-victim.