Now there is a great application for drones. The wonder of it is, you could unleash literally hundreds of drones to search an area. The tech we have access to nowadays will find people who are well hidden in desolate areas under adverse conditions.
I can't think of a better use for these things than SAR. Risk mitigation with drones is also a major factor. In fact, I could see where a drone could be used to locate a victim, provide valuable resources, communications etc, and give SAR teams a hard target to home in on and effect rescue.
As a public investment, especially up here in AK, I would think Drones would the real deal. Imagine what just 50 drones equipped with good AI and a full sensor array (flir, night vision, high res, sound sensing, chem trail tracking,seismic, etc) with a 1,500 mile range and a cruising speed of 250 knots could accomplish.
We had robotic ground rovers years ago that could track rabbits out in the desert. Every once in a while one would traipse through a contaminated area, then spread radioactive material into a sensitive area. They tracked the animals the same way a hound does. Pretty darned effective.
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The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)