New Report: Drones in Public Safety and First Responder Operations

2016-07-24

It may not seem like it, but drones are still in their infancy and only proving themselves through the rigorous testing done privately, commercially, and by state and federal government agencies. Despite the tangible benefits that drones can provide, the public has mixed sentiments about their use by law enforcement, firefighting, and search & rescue operations.

As early as 2012, this AP-NCC poll found a third of the public fears that police using drones for surveillance will erode their privacy. But negative sentiment is changing. In 2013, an Institute for Homeland Security Solutions (IHSS) and RTI International survey found 57 percent of the general public supports the use of unmanned aircraft systems for any application. It found:

88 percent of the general public supports drone use in search and rescue operations

67 percent support drone use in homeland security missions

63 percent support drone use in fighting crime

Nevertheless, despite fears by segments of the public and civil rights proponents like EPIC that broad use of drones heralds a domestic “surveillance state,” many more believe unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) provide tremendous benefits and dividends for public safety. This includes everything from traffic accident investigation, to forensics, to fire investigation and damage assessment.

With that in mind we just released our third research report series of studies that looks objectively at each major commercial market for drones and drone technology. This study titled “The Truth about Drones in Public Safety and First Responder Operations,” shows how drones have been used successfully by law enforcement, firefighters, and search & rescue thus far, reviews competitive and traditional approaches using incumbent technology, discusses the opportunities and challenges posed by regulations, outlines the lessons learned, and discusses what’s next for drones in this industry. Here is an excerpt:

“All these use cases are vital public safety matters that civilian market drones are well suited to handle. Cities, towns, and municipalities facing strained budgets and dwindling resources may more easily be able to afford small drones than traditional big ticket first response equipment and personnel. Consequently, drones will give some local governments a bigger bang for their buck.

But would-be adopters need to know that in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) controls the skies and has created regulations (safety standards) governing the operation of aircraft. Thankfully, not all, but still some, of the Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) apply to public aircraft. The FAA allows first responders with an FAA certificate of waiver the ability to create their own safety standards for the pilots, the aircraft, and maintenance. Additionally, first responders can choose to also operate under the newly created and liberal Part 107 small UAS regulations if that benefits their operations more.

In the U.S., it’s reported there are almost 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies with at least one full-time officer or the equivalent in part-time officers. That includes over 12,500 local police departments and over 3,000 sheriffs’ offices, and 50 primary state law enforcement agencies. The National Fire Protection Association reports that in 2014, there was an estimated total of 29,980 fire departments, of which 19,915 (about two-third) were staffed only with volunteers. Smaller law enforcement agencies and volunteer fire departments that have limited finances stand to benefit greatly because the price entry point has decreased for consumer drones (like the one pictured in Figure 3), their capabilities have increased, and the new liberal Part 107 regulations make it easier to legally operate.”

The report details major use cases and discusses the challenges and lessons learned by police and search & rescue teams including the lessons offered by Gene Robinson, head of Unmanned Aircraft Operations for the Wimberley Fire Department, from his work in the aftermath of the 2015 Texas Memorial Day floods.

2021-05-05

Development of the world market of UAV during COVID-19 pandemic

The drone market has grown steadily and continuously over the past several years. The technology is here to stay and is becoming more prevalent across numerous industries. But 2020 was a unique year due to Covid-19. Overall, respondents even felt that the changes in business models triggered by the lockdowns would actually have a positive impact on the drone industry in the long run.

2021-01-18

Russia is withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the country is beginning the procedure for withdrawing from the Treaty on Open Skies.

2020-12-26

Exclusive video of application of the ZALA Lancet UAV at the training ground.

ZALA Lancet is the first Russian-made unmanned airstrike system.

2020-12-23

Drone application in the oil and gas sector

Russia ranks 3rd in the World in the list of countries for oil production. The length of main pipelines in Russia is more than 250 000 km. Many pipelines often run in hard-to-reach areas of our country, which makes it difficult to monitor the condition of pipelines and increases the risk of illegal activities and violations. It is in such cases drones become an integral part of the oil and gas industry.

2020-09-24

Results оf The International Helicopter Industry Exhibition HeliRussia 2020

HeliRussia is the only exhibition in Russia where world achievements of the entire range of products and services of the helicopter industry are presented. In 2020, the exhibition was held from September 15 to 17 at the Crocus Expo exhibition center, Moscow.

2020-09-14

American retailer Walmart has launched the delivery of food and necessities using Flytrex drones.

On September 9, American retailer Walmart performed a pilot launch of food delivery using unmanned aircraft in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

2020-09-12

SenseFly drones help monitor Lake Winnipeg ice hazards in Switzerland.

The project, which is part of the Canadian Space Agency's Earth observation applications development program (EODAP), was aimed at identifying and monitoring lake ice levels, as well as detecting cracks and pressure ridges to raise awareness among local communities and first responders about the risks of moving lake ice.

2020-09-03

Development of unmanned aircraft on Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2020"

On August 29, Military-Technical Forum "Army-2020" ended, although only a few months ago this event was under the big question due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the Forum was held and the results were impressive. Mostly participants and visitors of the forum were impressed by the display of domestic unmanned aerial vehicles.

2020-04-30

The Pros and Cons of Drone Delivery

The idea of commercial delivery drones is more relevant now than ever as social distancing guidelines have made contactless delivery an essential part of company operations. ‘

The first drone delivery was a tasty one: Dominos delivered two pizzas to a residence in New Zealand in 2016. Since then, companies have been racing towards liftoff.

2020-04-06

Medical Drone Delivery Success in Ireland

In September, it was reported on the world’s first BVLOS medical delivery in Ireland.

Researchers at NUI Galway partnered with German drone startup Wingcopter to transport prescription medication and blood samples for diabetes patients.

This week, the research team released more details about the project in an ENDO 2020 abstract to be published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

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Reports

2020-04-06
Turkey set to become a major player on drone market

The success of Turkey’s indigenously produced Anka-S drone, and the development of the Anka-2 model, could position Turkey as a major player on the drone market, said an analyst writing in The National Interest.

Turkey began operating and experimenting with drones in the 1990s, starting its own development program. “Anka” was the name under which a line of domestic medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) was developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Turkey also bought IAI Herons from Israel and started using them in 2010, said analyst Charlie Gao on Saturday.