Ivaldo’s body found thanks to a drone and AI. © Turin Corriere
It is almost a year of research that ended thanks to artificial intelligence and drones. The body of doctor Nicola Ivaldo was found at Mont Viso, Italy.
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The AI finds the body of Nicola Ivaldo
It was in September 2024 that he had disappeared, at 66, after having hired a hike in the Italian Alps. It was finally found in a channel at 3,150 meters above sea level. However, nothing would have been possible without the use of a new software boosted at AI, combined with drones.
On Tuesday, July 29 in the morning, the rescuers made new mountain shots and collected all the necessary images in just five hours using two drones. These data were analyzed by artificial intelligence software a few hours later, which immediately spotted “points suspects“.
We woke up at 4 a.m. to reach a very distant point and clearly visible from the canal where red pixels had been detected.
Indeed, these few differences of difference turned out to be the hiker’s helmet, which emerged from the mountainous landscape. The team then used a drone to check the presence of the helmet, before taking “All necessary photos and measures“And to transmit the data to the coordination center. This made it possible to mobilize quickly”the firefighters’ helicopter for recovery and judicial police operations“. Thus, Nicola Ivaldo was found.
Use of drones and AI that is generalized
As ISOLA reminds us, this discovery would not have been possible without the vast plan put in place in the use of drones, developed by the CNSAS (national alpine and speleological rescue body) in coordination with ENAC, the National Civil Aviation Control Agency.
A drone and AI patrol the mountains. © Oleg Kopyov Shutterstock
“We have been using drones for about five years. For about a year and a half, we have integrated color recognition technologies and shapes“Explains Isola, who takes the opportunity to recall that the biggest work has still been carried out by technicians and not by AI.
For its part, the CNSAS wants to continue using drones. This technology will quickly locate disappeared, especially thanks to thermal cameras capable of detecting only living beings. Artificial intelligence analyzes data in a few hours, facilitating interventions. The objective is to generalize their use in order to considerably reduce the number of mountain deaths.
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