Nicola Ivaldo, an Italian 66 -year -old Italian doctor passionate about mountain and mountaineering, had the ambition to climb Mont Viso, located in the Italian Alps, two kilometers from the French border. But since September 15, 2024, the day he started his ascent, the hiker was not found.
However, thanks to the combined work of two drones, capable of taking pictures in remote areas or not very accessible in high resolution, and artificial intelligence (AI), which was able to treat these images, the doctor’s body could be identified in only two half-days, almost a year after its disappearance, said the repubblica.
The surgeon’s body was near Mount which he had undertaken to climb, in a channel located on the north face of Mont Viso, at 3,150 m above sea level. To find Nicola Ivaldo, the pilots took more than 2,600 photographs on July 29 in an area of 183 ha.
An “impossible” mission without technology
Finally, the firefighters’ helicopter took off on July 31 in the morning with Alpin and Piedmontese Speleological and Alpine Rescue Staff on board the Finance Card for Recovery and Judicial Police Operations.
[2/4] Cécile Vallin, the secrets of a disappearance
Crime Story tells the big criminal affairs every week.
One of the CNSAS drone pilots (national alpine and speleological rescue body), Saverio Isola, explained to Wired Italy that the hiker’s body had been located thanks to its red helmet, which was cut with the rest of the landscape.
“It is the artificial intelligence software that has identified certain different colored pixels in the images taken,” explains Saverio Isola. The two CNSAS drone pilots were able to rest on the good knowledge of the land of four alpine rescuers. “It is a human success”, welcomes the pilot interviewed by Wired, who nuances: “Without technology, this mission would have been impossible. It is a collective success ”.
