A6 T HE B UL L E T IN • S AT UR DAY , J UNE 19, 2021
Drones
Continued from A5
Some have thermal imaging
capabilities to scan for body
heat, while larger drones can
deliver medical supplies and
other goods to people in iso-
lated areas.
But researchers are find-
ing more novel uses for an
extra set of eyes in the sky —
and noses. The University of
Washington imagines drones
that use smell to locate disaster
survivors. The Aerospace Cor-
poration is working on drones
that can visually identify dogs
and share their location with
rescue teams. The University
of Zurich developed a drone to
change shape midflight to fit
into oddly-shaped crevices.
Locating people using aerial
acoustics presents its share of
challenges. An auditory system
would need to decipher be-
tween human cries and sounds
that often happen in nature,
such as animal calls and wind.
It might also need to recognize
patterns associated with kick-
ing, clapping or other ways
people try to get the attention
of rescue teams.
Engineers at FKIE took
those situations into account
when building out their con-
cept drone. They first needed
a database of “impulsive” hu-
man noises to train the drone
against.
They recorded themselves
screaming, tapping and cre-
ating other noises that might
be a sign of people in trou-
Idaho Department of Lands, file
This drone with infrared camera helps Idaho Department of Lands crews monitor fire behavior. Engineers at
a German company have developed drone technology that can detect and locate human screams and voices
in distress that could aid in locating survivors after a disaster.
ble. Then, they analyzed each
sound frequency to find com-
mon “signatures” and used
those to train artificial intelli-
gence software.
They also worked to filter
out the noise created by drone
rotors and other environmen-
tal sounds, Varela said.
Once the software part was
complete, they assembled a
system of tiny digital micro-
phones to provide “precise”
angles for where sound is
coming from. Digital micro-
phones like the ones found in
smartphones and hearing aids
were used because they don’t
require as much bulky hard-
ware as analog or traditional
microphones, the researchers
said.
The team placed the cluster
of microphones under a drone
and used signal processing
techniques that enabled it to
track where human noises are
coming from. The system also
enhanced the volume and clar-
ity of the speech. So far, they
have conducted successful
“open field experiments,” find-
ing that the drone can estimate
a victim’s location within a few
seconds of picking up sound,
Varela says.
In a demonstration video,
the drone is shown hovering
above the ground before piv-
oting in the direction of a re-
searcher making noises and
calling for help on the ground.
”We have already suc-
ceeded in angularly detect-
ing and locating impulsive
sounds very precisely ... with
the presence of drone noise,”
Varela said. The engineers
are in the process of patent-
ing their method for tracking
down sounds using micro-
phones.
Next, they would like to
add a higher frequency mi-
crophone to a drone to en-
hance the system’s accuracy.
The idea is to pick up noises
from hundreds of meters
away, Varela said. In the real
world, victim location data
might one day be sent wire-
lessly to emergency crews car-
rying a tablet.
Since announcing their
development last week, the
researchers have been ap-
proached by various organiza-
tions interested in partnering
with them, Varela said. But it’s
unclear when such a concept
might be deployed.
The research institute pri-
marily experiments and cre-
ates prototypes. It sometimes
licenses discoveries to com-
panies that focus on com-
mercialized products, but the
process is far from linear, ac-
cording to Kai Nuernberger,
who leads the institution’s
business development depart-
ment.
”We are good at developing
technology and tackling prob-
lems that there is not yet a
solution to. But commercial-
ization is not really our task,”
Nuernberger said.
Find it all online bendbulletin.com
Hemp
Continued from A5
The “foliage” included hand-
picked hemp flowers with a
higher oil content, while the
“biomass straw” consisted of
raw hemp that was combined
in a field but not processed, Al-
ley said.
Though the farm hoped to
salvage the hemp, it was ulti-
mately unable to sell any be-
cause the crop was too dam-
aged by rain. At the time, the
processed “foliage” would have
been worth $250 per pound
and the “biomass straw” would
have been worth up to $8 per
pound, the complaint said.
While the insurance com-
pany paid out $200,000 for
the lost hemp as general per-
sonal property, it refused to
pay $600,000 under a policy
specific to hay stored in a barn
building, the complaint said.
The insurance company
claimed the farm’s policy had a
“CBD/THC exclusion,” refer-
ring to chemical compounds
contained in hemp, but the farm
claims that exclusion doesn’t ex-
ist, according to the lawsuit.
The insurance company also
denied that hemp qualifies as
“hay,” arguing it’s limited to
dried grass, clover and alfalfa,
while the plaintiffs argue the
crop is “regularly used as for-
age and feed,” the complaint
said.
The complaint claims the
farm is owed the $600,000 plus
interest and attorney fees.
A representative of Allianz
SE, a German-based conglom-
erate of which The American
Insurance Co. is a subsidiary,
said the company does not
comment on pending lawsuits.
541.480.8130
louie@louiehoffman.com
“Catch My Drift”
Louie Hoffman, CCIM
Principal Broker, Licensed in Oregon
SRES, Senior Real Estate Specialist
Proudly Serving Central Oregon Real Estate
Communities for 29 Years
%(1'_5('021'
Stocks
Continued from A5
A measure of nervousness
in the stock market, known
as the VIX, rose Friday but
is only back to where it was
about a month ago.
Banks are taking a hit
from the shrinking gap
between shorter- and lon-
ger-term interest rates,
which helped send financial
stocks in the S&P 500 down
2.4% on Friday. That was
one of the sharpest losses
among the 11 sectors that
make up the index.
When the gap is wide,
the industry can make big
profits from borrowing
cash in short-term markets
and lending it out at lon-
ger-term rates. But short-
term yields jumped sharply
this week after the Fed’s
indication that it may be
moving up the timeline for
rate increases. The Fed has
said it expects high infla-
tion to be only “transitory,”
and prices for lumber at
least have already started
to moderate a bit. Much of
Wall Street also says infla-
tion looks to be only tem-
porary, but part of the Fed’s
mission is to keep prices
under control.
Gary Michael
Langenfeld
of Bend, OR
October 3, 1966 - May 24,
2021
Arrangements:
Baird Funeral Home of
Bend is honored to serve
the Langenfeld family.
Please visit our website,
www.bairdfh.com, to share
condolences and sign
our online guest book.
541.382.0903
OBITUARY DEADLINE
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