WaterRescueDrones Project

On September 11, 2025, the first "Drone Barcamp" took place at the West Coast University of Applied Sciences in Heide. Jointly organized by UAM-InnoRegion SH, the DE-DK ​​Interreg project ARTEMIS, and Windrove, the event brought together around 90 participants from SMEs, universities, and public institutions.   What makes the Barcamp special: no pre-defined agenda – the participants themselves determine the topics! In 16 interactive sessions, current issues and future scenarios in unmanned aviation were discussed, including:  UWB technology for drones including live demo by NXP Long-range drones & hydrogen technology Wind & emissions measurement with drones Safety in uncontrolled airspace (BVLOS) Vocational training & further education for the drone economy Funding & export controls Drone ports & landing infrastructure Public acceptance  During breaks, participants had the opportunity to visit the booths of various exhibitors.   The "WaterRescue...

Successful test of ML based object detection  The WRD team was out recently testing ML based object detection on real hardware. Supported by DLRG team we had a windsurfer and a kite surfer placed in the water. Task of our NXP Auriol drone equipped with SIYI ZT-30 gimbal camera and NXP NavQ+ (i.MX8M-plus) with internal NPU was to detect the objects in water and deliver a live video stream of both RGB and IR camera to the ground control van. Object detection worked very well. Only challenge was the limited bandwith of the LTE connection because we streamed three (3) RTSP videos live (IR, RGB and AI-ML output). Special thanx for acting as "rescue targets" floating in the water for several hours to Christian Lautenbach from kiteguide-spo.de  and Kevin Peklar. Looking forward to the next successful test.

Demonstration flight  (c) 2025, quadmovr NXP did some demonstration flights to BOS organisation showcasing the capabilities of the HHLA-Sky X25 drone based on NXP technology used in the project. The RGB and IR camera system is very capable to be used for search missions on land as well.

Support to fire brigade at a wildfire On May 6th we were preparing a flight test at the beach of St.Peter-Ording to collect training data for the onboard AI. What started as a routine flight test day turned into a real emergency scenario soon. Right before takeoff to our first planned flight we got requested to support the local fire brigades at a wildfire at the salt marshes at the south beach. We did 4 flights with over 20min each providing live video feed from our onboard RGB and IR camera into the ground control van helping the operations team on a live situational awareness. Related media relase https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Salzwiesenbrand-in-SPO-hinterlaesst-verheerenden-Schaden,regionheidenews2968.html (German) RGB camera IR camera On the ground

From March 31 to April 4, 2025, Hannover Messe 2025 was entirely dedicated to the industrial transformation towards climate neutrality. At the world's leading industrial trade fair, more than 4,000 companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, digital industries, and energy sector presented intelligent solutions, outstanding innovations, and pioneering technologies. The Schleswig-Holstein joint stand in Hall 17, Stand B39, also focused on fresh ideas for a high-performing and sustainable industry. Under the motto "From the Sound of the Sea to Breathtaking Ideas," six companies and institutions from the far north presented research results, technologies, and services. The joint appearance was organized by the Schleswig-Holstein Business Development and Technology Transfer Corporation (WTSH).   The "WaterRescueDrones" project consortium, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, presented its project results at the joint st...

 Payload board rework The drone payload board got two 12W LED search lights mounted that can be controlled from ground either via remote control or from camera operator. With this modification the board has an overall weight with all components of 2,57kg. Actual components mounted -  SIYI ZT30  gimbal camera providing RGB and IR videostream (RTSP). -  NavQplus  (i.MX8M-plus) companion computer running MediaMTX for videostreaming and OpenCV for object detection/classification using AI accelerator  (connected via T1 ethernet to drone internal network) - Servo for release mechanism (controlled from flight control) - 2x 12W LED search light ( controlled from flight control) - smartmicro  DRVEGRD ®  152  radar sensor for obstacle detection (connected via T1 ethernet to drone companion)

UWB guided automatic drone landing  UWB guided automatic landing of our HHLA Sky GmbH NXP Auriol ( X25 ) drone. On the drone and ground we use Murata 2BP UWB development boards based on NXP Semiconductors Trimension™ SR150 UWB solution with custom middleware for two way double sided ranging. Landing control is done within PX 4 1.15.2 flight stack running on our MR-VMU-RT1176 flight management unit.