disclosed herein are systems and methods for communication scanners , which utilize mobile - based platforms to facilitate the communications . in an embodiment , the mobile uav based emergency communication scanner is comprised of an unmanned aerial vehicle , deployed sensor resources , mapping application and a big - data center . the present invention discloses a mobile uav system that is configured to collect sensory data from the sensor resources deployed in embodiments of phones , gps and other activity signals . the disclosed systems and methods improve upon emergency response systems where data collection may be limited and communication channels may not be available . the system and methods may be utilized in a multitude of ways , including but not limited to search and rescue operations .