Reimagining search and rescue with drone swarm technology

Johnathan Lok is a first-year PhD student, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) researcher, and the second-place winner of the 2025 Change the World competition for his Rescue Swarm Project. He currently holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Fulton School of Engineering.

After working for over 10 years in the industry, including stints at Fortune 500 companies such as Intel and Toyota, he noticed a gap in the way search and rescue operations are conducted. We spoke to him about what brought him back to begin his graduate studies, his research, and his world-changing project.

A life-saving moment that becomes a calling

What pushed him back into academia wasn’t a paper or a promotion; it was an urgent, visceral moment on a beach. Johnathan describes it simply:

“Imagine you're just swimming at the beach, and your loved one is suddenly missing. I was lucky enough to be there at the moment when this lady was swept out to sea on a rip current. Everyone was screaming, ‘Someone save her!’ but the bystander effect resulted in no one actually jumping in.” 

“I jumped in and swam out to her, grabbed her, and pulled her up to the surface. People who are drowning instinctively try to drown the rescuer. They'll grab onto anything to get air themselves. I knew that from my military training, and I was able to effectively let her pull me under while I just held my breath. She got air, she calmed down, and I swam back to shore with her.”

That rescue stayed with him. As he dug into the research, the scope of the problem became increasingly clear: people go missing and die in floods, heat events, and drownings at rates that are largely preventable. 

Seeing the gap in search and rescue

He learned that even in trained military contexts, the odds aren’t reassuring, “only a 20% success rate if someone falls overboard,” he quotes. So, he began asking a different question: if technology can find and strike targets in minutes, why can’t it find people in minutes?

“As a society, we haven't used swarm technology, specifically drone swarms, to save people. They’re used very effectively to do the opposite, like in Ukraine, and in war scenarios.”

The answer brought him back to school for controls engineering, and to found ClearCast, a startup that has created a drone-swarm control network. This network enables a single operator to coordinate multiple autonomous drones to search, locate, and assist people faster than traditional methods. In Johnathan’s words:

“Academically, swarm technology is the study of scalable formation control strategies for autonomous, nonlinear, multi-robot systems. Colloquially, it’s how do you find someone in minutes instead of hours?” 

Technology designed to save lives

ClearCast’s approach is to accelerate detection through coordinated, intelligent search patterns and to buy time for victims by delivering oxygen masks autonomously until first responders arrive. Placing at Change the World boosted ClearCast and Rescue Swarm beyond recognition. The contest gave Johnathan local credibility and opened doors, most notably by securing funding to build a motion capture studio and he is currently in talks tostart drone pilot programs with local Fire Department search and rescue teams. 

Johnathan is candid about what it takes to move from idea to impact:

“If you have a good idea to save lives, don’t let anyone stop you. Get funding. Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with people who have skills you don’t, and make sure your team is the best.”

His team embodies that philosophy, comprising of control engineers, aerospace specialists, computer vision experts, and individuals with experience in UAVs, UGVs, and underwater systems. Johnathan also notes his background as a DARPA PhD researcher and his group’s industry experience as essential assets in building a practical, scalable system.

What’s next for ClearCast? Pilot programs, real-world testing with first responders, and making the system affordable. 

How Change the World changed his trajectory

“Working with other Change the World teams, they asked us questions that allowed us to come up with ideas that we hadn’t previously thought of. We didn’t anticipate all these nuanced scenarios, and that helped us adjust some of our design. Like, what happens if a baby goes overboard? Can your oxygen mask fit a baby? We had to pivot some of our design to make sure that the seal can go around smaller faces as well.”

The broader goal is ambitious but direct: rescue humans in minutes instead of hours.

“A swarm control network can guarantee that drones cover an entire search area within an exact time bound. Firefighters can now find people within exact time bounds, which beats AI. This is a future-proof thing that is 100% guaranteed mathematically.”

Johnathan Lok’s story is an example of how one immediate act of bravery can bring an idea that may soon prevent countless avoidable deaths. He turned a near-tragedy into a mission: harnessing swarm technology not to harm, but to save lives.

Join the mission

If you’d like to join the effort, Johnathan invites collaborators and applicants to join the all-volunteer team. Send resumes to Johnathan Lok or visit ClearCastRescue.com.

Present your idea at Change the World

If you have an idea that could make a difference, we invite you to apply to the Change the World showcase. On March 18, 2026, Mountain America Stadium will come alive with art displays, idea pitches, live performances and innovative solutions created by ASU students just like you. 

This is your chance to share your vision, compete for prize money, and join a community of Sun Devils committed to global impact. Applications are open until Feb. 27, 2026. Take the leap: submit your idea and join the movement to change the world.