How Can Dog Handlers Help Us Understand the Future of Wilderness Search & Rescue Robots?

Wilderness search and rescue teams face challenges in hazardous environments. While robots show promise for these teams, their success depends on their ability to account for sociotechnical considerations, including human factors, as well as the organizational, economic, and emotional realities of search missions. We investigate these considerations through interviews with wilderness search team members who handle search dogs. These interviews reveal underexplored perspectives on awareness and uncertainty, the value of training experiences, team dynamics, and financial feasibility. Our findings motivate design recommendations for semiautonomous systems in the wilderness, yet also raise key questions regarding the role that robots can and should play in this domain.