Kenneth B. Chiacchia, PhD
Heather E. Houlahan, AB
Mountaineer Area Rescue Group
Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference
Morgantown, WV
U.S.A.
Email kchiacchia@asrc.net
http://dx.doi.org/10.61618/NPEN4588
Abstract
Effective sweep width (W) promises objective probability of detection (POD) values for guiding missing-person search efforts. However, methods for measuring W produce large uncertainties. Also, models for
generating POD from W have not been validated for ground-based search. The authors applied least-square fits of POD data collected in the field for air-scent dog teams as well as human searchers using
the two most prevalent models to derive W values. The method routinely fits the data to an R-square of .8 with more statistical power than previous methods, and appears to be detector-agnostic. The authors
present recommendations for optimizing its use in the field.
KEYWORDS: SAR, effective sweep width, probability of detection, search theory, dogs, smell