We’ve received a request from a Search and Rescue Unit. This organization comprises volunteer pilots who use their own helicopters. They carry out aerial rescues when somebody gets lost in natural settings.

Apart from emergency operations, the teams of this Unit also conduct forest patrols. They report any instances of wildfires.

“We are deeply committed to ensuring that all those who get lost return home safe and sound. We do everything in our power to bring children to their parents and parents back home alive”. Guided by this mission, the rescuers have saved more than 300 lives within four years.

While conducting rescue operations, the pilots capture their flights and later analyze the recorded footage with their colleagues on monitors. Previously, this was possible only after the helicopter had returned to base. Given the life-or-death nature of their mission, every lost minute could spell the difference in someone’s survival. They required a solution, allowing base personnel to view the video live. Also, they needed to rewind the recording whenever necessary, so the rescue team contacted us.

The solution

We installed a Facecast hardware encoder Evacoder on one of their rescue helicopters. From that point onward, the process functioned as follows:

Evacoder performs its standard function. It is recording the transmission and transmitting the signal to the base station. Within a minute, persons stationed at the base can access the video feed from the helicopter. They can see it in the player, equipped with DVR rewind. That allows critical moments to be reviewed immediately.

Many rescue operations occur in remote areas with poor and intermittent internet connection. Evacoder tackles this challenge by utilizing bonding technology. In areas with weak signals, it combines all available internet connections. If the signal disappears, the encoder stores the broadcast in the memory. Once the internet connection is restored, the Evacoder sends the data to the base station.

Here’s how the Evacoder looks on board the rescue helicopter:

 

The faster processing of video signals has notably shortened search times. So the Facecast development is appreciated by the rescue team, and by those who have been successfully rescued. And especially by their families who were spared from losing their loved ones.

We want to say “Thank you!” to the rescuers for their selfless efforts and for allowing smotrika.org to be part of their impactful mission!

If you have questions or want to order Evacoder equipment for your broadcasts, our team will be happy to help.