We focus on the use of helicopters in disaster mitigation and relief. The main objectives of this research activity are:
- To develop methodologies for the modeling of disaster situations, and the dispatching of rescue helicopters, generally based on operations research and numerical optimization techniques; and
- To apply these methodologies to the management of helicopters in disaster relief operations.
We have recently presented some novel mathematical techniques for the dispatching of a large heterogeneous fleet of rescue helicopters in a large-scale urban emergency. The techniques were applied to a simulated emergency in a large East Coast metropolitan area (download the paper). In this simulation, we dispatch helicopters based on their ability to perform certain rescues, their performance, their current status and location, and the specific rescue needs at each locations were victims need help.