The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has developed a newer version of its own Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT).
INCOIS works under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
SARAT-Key Features
SARAT has been developed for better accuracy and utility to aid the Indian Search and Rescue (SAR) agencies such as the Indian Coast Guard in their operations at sea.
SARAT application can simulate the probable search area of a range of objects lost at sea, including humans, when provided with the last known time and location of the lost object.
When a person or an object goes missing at sea, due to the ever-dynamic nature of the sea, the person or the object drifts away from where it was lost.
Surface winds, currents and waves influence the drift of the object. Each object interacts with the environment differently depending on its size, dimensions and buoyancy.
SARAT was initially launched in 2016 and has been used extensively by the Coast Guard in its marine search operations.
The new version aids the authorities in utilising the limited search facilities optimally by reducing the vast search area to a few high probability region.
