Indoor search-and-rescue drone developed at University of Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Some University of Maryland students were in the spotlight Wednesday after winning more than $150,000 in a national drone competition.

What the team from the university's Autonomous Micro Air Vehicle Team has achieved is especially important to first responders, who turned out in big numbers Wednesday to take a look at the specialized drone students at the University’s Clark School of Engineering created. 

The drone is designed to fly indoors and see through darkness, smoke and unbreathable air to search for victims and assess conditions.

Former student Qingwen Wei, of Towson Maryland, said the students have targeted a highly specialized market.

"I don’t think there are a lot of companies that are going directly for first responders and what they want," Wei said. "Even compared to five years ago where drones were, this is a giant leap forward compared to that, so I can’t image in another five years what drones will bring." 

The team included graduate student Animesh Shastry and Derek Paley, the Maryland Robotics Center Director. They accepted a citation from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Rep. Glenn Ivey after winning NIST’S national first responder indoor challenge and a $152,000 prize.

Prince George’s County Fire EMS Chief Tiffany Green said her department is now assessing drone technology for deployment.

“This is potentially technology that can save someone’s life and help us do our job better," Green said.