What technologies have made search and rescue easier?

The NASA-developed Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) program that in 2009 helped rescue Clements was responsible for saving 194 other lives that year -- and continues to be effective. In 2012, it prompted the rescue of 263 people in the United States [source: NOAA].

In 2010, however, NASA began rolling out Distress Altering Satellite System (DASS) technology for search and rescue. Unlike SARSAT, the DASS doesn't use NOAA weather satellites. Instead, its distress signal repeater connects to U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System (GPS) spacecraft orbiting Earth. This hook-up creates two important improvements: Distress signals -- and their origins -- can be identified faster and more precisely. For example, DASS technology can precisely locate a distress signal within just a few minutes instead of the hour or more SARSAT may require. According to NASA, the DASS search and rescue technology will be fully operational by 2015 and linked to all the Air Force's Block III GPS satellites. It's expected to speed rescues not only for stranded boaters, but lost aviators and hikers, too [source: NASA].

Not everyone who needs rescue happens to be carrying a satellite-linked rescue beacon, though. What about survivors of tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes or tsunamis? Natural disasters like these can strike quickly and leave hundreds (sometimes thousands) in need of rescue.

Technical search equipment is a standard part of most search teams' arsenals and usually includes electronic listening devices (to hear signs of life), viewing devices like fiber-optic cable cameras and GPS receivers with mapping software [source: Stevens].

In addition, specially trained dogs can go into spaces too tight or unstable for humans, which is an important distinction when survivors are trapped beneath rubble or debris. And, because humans constantly slough off microscopic particles that act as a scent fingerprint carried by the wind, rescue dogs don't even need to track a fresh scent on the ground. This is known as "air scenting" and is an effective search technique that's been used to discover lost hikers, locate survivors of train and plane crashes and find skiers buried in avalanches. The dogs and their handlers are assigned specific geographical sections to investigate, and if a dog picks up a human scent, it alerts its handler with a bark [source: Lewis, NASAR].

Search and rescue dogs can get the job done, but they may have competition from another -- very tiny -- member of the animal kingdom.

The next time you notice an anthill, don't squash it. It could just be the key to a future search-and-rescue operation. Researchers have been studying fire ants and their ability to speedily dig through all sorts of materials -- from soil to glass beads. No matter what the material, the ants' digging remains the same. They create tunnels with a diameter that matches the length of their bodies; this ideal size allows for two-way ant traffic while keeping tunnel walls within easy grasping distance. These tunnels -- and their creators -- could offer the key to more effective search and rescue robots.

Currently, search and rescue robots are built like miniature tanks. Boxy and inflexible, the robots work best when traveling in a straight line on level terrain. But what if scientists could take their cues from fire ants and figure out a way to make an agile robot that can enter underground chambers or navigate impromptu tunnels caused by falling debris? Thanks to inspiration taken from snakes or caterpillars, researchers almost did.

A snake robot that could wiggle its way through a collapsed structure and a caterpillar robot that could vibrate into disaster-created tunnels worked admirably in laboratories, but not real life. When tested after a building collapse in Cologne, Germany, both robots failed. They were either too large to fit beneath the rubble or couldn't be operated from a safe distance. The robots required complex machinations to move, which translated into more opportunities for parts to break down. Plus, the robots were expensive to build and operate. Researchers have to figure out how to combat the robots' substantial energy drain in potentially remote environments [sources: Fecht].

In 2012, however, rescuers came up with a potentially powerful combination when they devised a way for rescue dogs to deploy snake robots. During training exercises, a search and rescue dog equipped with a snake robot finds a survivor, then barks to alert its handler. This bark activates the robot, which enters spaces too small or dangerous for the dog to fit. The snakebot then relays video and audio back to rescuers [source: Boyle].

Whether it means locating a GPS-equipped distress signal or using a snakebot-toting dog, search and rescue operations have entered a digital age.