Real-Time Human Detection in Search and Rescue Missions using YOLOV8

Abstract

In general, search and rescue operations are carried out in hostile and uncertain situations in places such as collapsed structures, disaster areas, forests, and remote regions. It is vital to quickly locate missing people in these situations in order to improve their survival rates. In general, existing techniques in searching rely on intensive inspection processes, which are time-consuming and dangerous for rescue teams. This research aims to introduce a real-time human detection system using a YOLOv8 model. It is a system that utilizes images or video feeds obtained during a search and rescue scenario to automatically detect humans within a given area. It is anticipated that through the use of a YOLOv8 model, a proposed system could automatically detect humans in real-time even in complex situations. It processes images, recognizes the presence of humans, and indicates their presence using bounding boxes.

Introduction

The text presents a real-time Search and Rescue (SAR) system that uses AI and computer vision, specifically YOLOv8, to detect humans in disaster environments and improve rescue efficiency.

Core idea

Traditional SAR operations rely on manual search, which is slow, risky, and ineffective in large or complex disaster zones. The proposed system uses drone/camera imagery + deep learning to automatically detect survivors and support faster rescue decisions.

Proposed solution

The system is built around a YOLOv8-based human detection pipeline that:

• Collects images/videos from drones, cameras, or users
• Applies image preprocessing (contrast enhancement, noise reduction, gamma correction)
• Uses YOLOv8 deep learning model to detect humans in real time
• Generates bounding boxes, confidence scores, and labels
• Visualizes detections on a GUI for rescue teams

Additional system features

• Geolocation tagging of detected humans
• Real-time alerts via email, SMS, and system logs
• Notification system to support immediate rescue response

Key technology

• YOLOv8 provides fast and accurate one-stage object detection
• Optimized for real-time performance, detecting humans at multiple scales even in complex environments (debris, fog, low light)

Literature insights

Existing research shows:

• CNN-based models improve detection accuracy but often suffer from:
  • Low FPS (slow processing)
  • Limited generalization across environments
  • High computational cost
• UAV-based and radar-based systems exist but face performance or scalability limitations

Experimental results

The proposed system demonstrates:

• High real-time speed (~40 FPS)
• mAP of 0.74–0.81 depending on conditions
• Alert response within ~1.5 seconds
• Up to 18% performance improvement in poor weather using enhancement techniques

Conclusion

The combination of real-time object detection with adaptive image enhancement based on changes in weather conditions can be considered a significant achievement in the field of intelligent surveillance systems. In this project, the use of YOLOv8 is complemented by such methods of image enhance-ment as histogram equalization, gamma correction, CLAHE, and median filtering, which increase the quality of object detection in fog, rain, and night conditions using OpenCV and NumPy libraries. Another important feature isthe user-friendly GUI designed using the Tkinter library that allows us to import media, stream video, select objects of interest, and get instant alerts. Moreover, the application has the option of simulating weather conditions, enabling us to use it in research and practical work. Another important feature is the real-time alert system implemented with the help of SMTP services for emails and Twilio services for SMS messages. It allows us to notify about the presence of selected objects in the image as quickly as possible. The system has a modular structure, which allows us to implement scalability in it. We can update any module independently. Experimental tests show that the use of this approach increases object detection accuracy and robustness in various conditions.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Mrs. A. Amulya, M. Harini, M. Sriharshith Reddy. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.