An emergency-response exercise in Braunschweig has demonstrated how drones, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence could support rescue operations after a severe urban storm. The RESITEK project, led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), used an autonomous drone to search rubble, identify a potentially injured person and communicate with them, while coordinating a possible helicopter medical response from a test site in Germany.
The drone used camera imagery and AI-supported recognition to locate the person and asked them to signal. It then told the casualty that it would remain nearby, make room for the arriving help and that assistance was on the way. A second drone was brought in to help assess the situation. If the circumstances were sufficiently clear, the unmanned aircraft could request a helicopter carrying medical personnel, with the drone yielding airspace to the crewed aircraft.
The broader demonstration involved 16 DLR institutes and combined satellite data, aerial imagery, drone feeds, ground sensors, autonomous vehicles and robotic systems in a shared operational picture. The scenario covered damaged or inaccessible urban areas, blocked routes, power loss and communications difficulties, with the system intended to help identify casualties, assess damage and prioritise response resources.
The Braunschweig event was a technology demonstration rather than an operational deployment. It did not establish that the system is approved for autonomous emergency missions, and no performance data or specific drone model was disclosed.