Researchers develop a new computer algorithm to locate people lost at sea by modeling ‘traps’ in the water that could pull them in different directions
- Scientists from MIT and elsewhere developed a new search and rescue tool
- The computer algorithm identifies multiple ‘trap’ regions in the ocean
- These traps could pull people in several different directions as they drift, rather than keeping them on a single, linear path that current modeling relies on
- In early testing the new system was highly accurate
A team of researchers have developed a new algorithm that could help search and rescue teams locate people lost at sea using ocean currents, wind speed, and wave direction.
The project was a joint effort from scientists at MIT, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Virginia Tech, who tested their method using human manikins in the ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
Unlike current search and rescue models–which also use data about ocean currents and wind to calculate the likely location of a missing person by simulating one single linear path–the team’s new system is focused on identifying multiple points of ‘attraction’ in the ocean, which can sometimes change dramatically over time.
Scientists from MIT and other institutions created a tracking algorithm to locate people lost at sea, called Transient Attracting Profiles, or TRAPS
Using a system they called Transient Attracting Profiles (TRAPS), the team tracks these attraction points, which they behave like ‘moving magnets’ pulling people in the water toward them.
Instead of mapping out a single, linear path, the TRAPS model identifies many different attraction points, or ‘traps,’ in the ocean that will likely have pulled a person in multiple directions as they drift through the waters.
‘The key thing is, the traps may not have any signature in the ocean current field,’ MIT’s Thomas Peacock told MIT News.
‘If you do this processing for the traps, they might pop up in very different places from where you’re seeing the ocean current projecting where you might go.’
‘So you have to do this other level of processing to pull out these structures. They’re not immediately visible.’
Instead of modeling a single, linear path based on the ocean currents, the TRAP system calculates multiple points of attraction in the ocean that could drag people lost at sea in several different directions as they drift
The system can also be used preemptively to track all current ‘trap’ points to give a full portrait of where a person who’s fallen overboard might immediately begin drifting as soon as they’re reported missing
In their preliminary testing, the team placed GPS devices in the floating manikins to compare their actual location with their estimated location from the TRAPS algorithm, and the team found the algorithm was highly accurate.
According to the team, a major benefit of the system is that it could also be used preemptively, to keep track of trap spots in the ocean throughout the day, giving search and rescue teams an immediate indication of where to begin looking in the event someone does go overboard.
The team tested their algorithm using floating manikins equipped with GPS sensors in the ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, and found that the algorithm’s location estimates were very close to the actual GPS data
The team says they’ll share their tools with the US Coast Guard and other first responder organizations
The team say they’re planning to share the tools with the US Coast Guard and other first responder groups, for further testing.
‘Using this method, they can have knowledge right now of where the traps currently are, with the data they have available,’ Peacock said.
‘So if there’s an accident in the last hour, they can immediately look and see where the sea traps are. That’s important for when there’s a limited time window in which they have to respond, in hopes of a successful outcome.’