Who We Are?
Our Mission
Team openSAR.net aims to provide a safe, low cost, turn-key solution for a 2 person SAR sUAS Crew to effectively find missing persons in dense forest. We plan to use a combination of 3D printing, community open-design and off-the-shelf parts to put together a working sUAS for SAR teams. For those SAR teams that can’t afford our solution, we will provide all our designs and instructions for free through openSAR.net. This should allow very small SAR teams to afford our solution or adapt their own based on our work. This value-based approach leaves more budget available for better camera systems – the heart of any arial SAR operation.
We have decided on a custom 3D printed “tail-sitter” VTOL airplane like the WingtraOne mapping drone. This configuration allows for both fixed-wing and multi-rotor flight. The efficiency of this simple design reduces part count, failure modes and weight, which greatly increases flight times. The aircraft will be able to transition from fixed-wing to loiter and back automatically or with the push of a button. Take-offs, fight path navigation, and landings will be performed automatically, allowing the ground crew to focus on thermal camera search operations and coordination with other SAR elements.
