Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) used artificial intelligence to locate the body of a missing hiker after nearly 11 months, analyzing 2,600 drone images in just one afternoon to spot his helmet among the mountainous terrain. The breakthrough demonstrates how AI-powered search and rescue operations can dramatically reduce recovery times from weeks or months of manual analysis to hours, potentially saving lives in future mountain emergencies.
How it worked: The rescue team deployed drones across a 183-hectare area on the north face of Monviso, Italy’s highest peak in the Cottian Alps, capturing thousands of aerial images from approximately 50 meters above ground.
- AI software analyzed the drone footage and identified “suspicious spots” where pixels differed in color from the surrounding landscape, flagging the victim’s helmet as an anomaly.
- The entire imaging process took five hours with two drones on Tuesday morning, with AI analysis completed the same afternoon—bad weather delayed the physical recovery until Thursday.
- Dr. Nicola Ivaldo’s body was found at 3,150 meters altitude, more than 600 meters below the summit, exactly where the AI had detected the distinctive helmet pixels.
The rescue operation: CNSAS drone pilot Saverio Isola and his colleague Giorgio Viana led the three-day operation that successfully located 64-year-old Ligurian doctor Nicola Ivaldo, who had been missing since September 2024.
- “It was the AI software that identified some pixels of a different color in the images taken on Tuesday,” Isola explained, describing how the technology pinpointed the victim’s location in one of three ravines cutting through the mountain’s north face.
- Rescuers woke at 4 AM to reach a vantage point with clear visibility to the suspected location, using drones to confirm the helmet sighting before coordinating with fire brigade helicopters for body recovery.
Technology evolution: CNSAS has been developing AI-enhanced search capabilities for 18 months as part of a five-year drone program, integrating color and shape recognition technologies in coordination with ENAC, Italy’s national aviation agency.
- The rescue corps is expanding beyond visual analysis to thermal imaging, with AI systems capable of interpreting heat signatures from living beings to locate survivors in real-time.
- “Just like with still images, AI is also able to interpret thermal data and provide valuable information in just a few hours,” Isola noted, citing a recent successful rescue of climbers in Sardinia using similar technology.
The bigger picture: This successful recovery represents a significant advancement in mountain rescue capabilities, where traditional search methods would have required weeks or months of dangerous manual searching across treacherous terrain.
- The technology prevented rescue teams from risking their lives in hazardous conditions, as it did during the Marmolada Glacier tragedy where drones enabled recovery operations in previously inaccessible areas.
- CNSAS aims to use this AI-drone combination proactively to save missing people while they’re still alive, potentially reducing fatal mountain accidents through faster response times.
What they’re saying: “It’s a human achievement, but without technology, it would have been an impossible mission. It’s a team success,” said Isola, emphasizing the collaboration between AI systems and experienced mountain rescue teams.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...