Hello,
Several researchers at Embry‐Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) are conducting research to determine if images in either near infrared (NIR) or red-green-blue (RGB) wavelengths of light collected by an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) can assist a public safety official with recognizing the type of weapon held by a person perceived as an active threat. Information about optimal observation distance and wavelength of light can be beneficial for public safety agencies to develop or improve a UAS Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for observing an active threat situation.
The aim of this research is to survey people associated in any way with public safety to: 1) determine differences between RGB and NIR imagery and 2) recommend a best practice for a slant range distance for officers to consider if they find themselves using a UAS to respond to a real-world active threat condition.
During this survey, you will be shown 48 images of a person in a small group of people, holding either a knife, pistol, rifle, shotgun, shovel, or there may be no weapon at all in the image. You will be asked to click on the weapon in the image being held by a person and what type of weapon you think the person is holding, if any. The completion of the survey will take approximately 20 minutes.
The survey is completely anonymous (please share it with your public safety collogues). The link to the survey is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ActiveThreatUAS