special column

Research progress for UAV search and rescue methods based on deep learning

  • Bo PENG ,
  • Jikang BAI ,
  • Weiwen CHEN ,
  • Xiangtao ZHENG ,
  • Jianjun LEI ,
  • Xiaoqiang LU
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  • 1.School of Electrical and Information Engineering,Tianjin University,Tianjin 300072,China
    2.The International Joint Institute of Tianjin University,Tianjin University,Tianjin 300072,China
    3.College of Physics and Information Engineering,Fuzhou University,Fuzhou 350108,China

Received date: 2025-09-08

  Revised date: 2025-09-24

  Accepted date: 2025-10-22

  Online published: 2025-11-13

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(62271484)

Abstract

With the development of artificial intelligence technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can automatically identify and locate objects of interest by equipping different optoelectronic payloads, and are used for Search and Rescue (SaR) missions in disaster environments. UAV search and rescue missions require the rapid location of missing persons in complex and dangerous environments, facing challenges such as single detection technique, susceptibility to interference during imaging, complex background, and limited UAV platform resources. In recent years, the integration of UAV systems with deep learning algorithms has emerged as a prominent research focus. To demonstrate the advancement of UAV search and rescue techniques, the review of these methodologies has been conducted. Firstly, the difficulties faced by UAV search and rescue are analyzed according to the characteristics of UAV search and rescue missions. Subsequently, various UAV search and rescue methods based on deep learning in recent years are sorted out. Additionally, object detection datasets relevant to UAV search and rescue missions have been sorted out according to different data types. Finally, the problems of current research and future development directions are summarized.

Cite this article

Bo PENG , Jikang BAI , Weiwen CHEN , Xiangtao ZHENG , Jianjun LEI , Xiaoqiang LU . Research progress for UAV search and rescue methods based on deep learning[J]. ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA, 2025 , 46(23) : 632761 -632761 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.32761

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