First responders

Saskatoon, Canada’s most celebrated (and possibly only) drone manufacturer, Draganfly, is taking another step in its increasingly tight relationship and operational cooperation with police, fire, and other emergency aid services by hosting the Draganflyer Xperience: First Responder User Conference in Texas next week.

AirHub, a Netherlands-based drone software maker, has announced an exciting new addition to its drone management platform. Called Live Operations, AirHub’s latest offering supercharges live video streams from DJI drones and DJI Dock with features such as AI-based object detection, live telemetry data, and sharable video links.

Surf Life Saving NSW, a water safety and emergency rescue organization in Australia, is trialing new drone technology to look for missing bushwalkers or people swept into rough seas.

An Orlando-based company planning to support emergency medical services in Florida with advanced drone delivery operations says it has reached a major new milestone by successfully getting its small UAS parachute recovery systems certified according to ASTM International standards.

Canadian drone, equipment, and operating systems company Draganfly has unveiled its new UAV payload lowering device – a unit it’s calling “revolutionary” while marketed under the more pragmatic name, Precision Delivery System.

Originally designed as a rogue drone interceptor, the Robotican Goshawk observation aircraft is gearing up for a fresh inning with police, ambulance, and fire services in Israel. A modified version of the drone will soon be seen as a first responder, assessing situations with its camera before the arrival of ground teams.

Urban air mobility startup Volocopter is finding additional ways to expand uses for its battery-powered craft beyond its principal air taxi services, most recently through a new deal concluded with fellow German organization ADAC Luftrettung to deploy the planes in emergency medical response.

Nokia’s 5G-connected drones are all set to blanket Belgium. The Finnish drone platform has been selected by Belgium’s Citymesh in a deal that would see automated drones quickly reaching emergency sites after 911 calls come in and gather critical aerial data for first responders.

Drone public safety and emergency program consultancy Skyfire is taking a major step beyond its habitual advisory activities to police and fire departments by offering its own drone first responder (DFR) services as an outsourced solution to assembling in-house UAV units.

An FAA UAS test site in North Dakota is preparing drones to support response efforts after Governor Doug Burgum declared a statewide emergency for spring flooding.

Belgian communications and connectivity specialist Citymesh has announced the launch of what it calls the world’s first nationwide network of public safety drones ready to begin onsite data collection and reconnaissance work as soon as 911 calls come in for police and firefighter help.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has authorized the Pearland Police Department in Texas to operate its drones as first responders beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without any visual observers.

Drone safe navigation tech specialist Iris Automation will be supplying UAV services company Flying Lion with its ground-based Casia G and detect and avoid system to permit faster deployment of urgent first responder missions by client police departments.

Specialized drone and tactical products maker BRINC is expanding its line of tech designed for emergency responders, public safety services, police, firefighting, and disaster units with today’s release of the LEMUR 2 UAV, whose range of cutting-edge capabilities has been conceived to reduce the danger posed to the lives of people working to save others.

Public safety drone consultancy Skyfire and UAV automation platform VOTIX are coming together in a new partnership to enable more public safety agencies to navigate FAA regulations and start their own Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs.

Canadian UAV hardware and software company Draganfly has reinforced its emphatic support of Ukraine in its battle against invading Russian forces with the delivery of the first of three Situational Assessment Drones for the nation’s emergency and rescue units.

Israeli Police have successfully conducted a trial where drones served as first responders to incidents in two suburbs of Tel Aviv with a combined population of around 154,000 residents.

Swedish startup Everdrone has gotten the all-clear to extend its life-saving First on Scene Solutions activity using drones to speed automated external defibrillators (AED) and provide other support to first responders in Sweden’s vast Västra Götaland county.

Global drone and photography giant DJI is alerting clients of a new software upgrade for its enterprise and first responder Matrice 30 series, including associated accessories and apps.

Drones can be incredibly effective at finding missing persons since they can scan a large area quickly. But did you know there are several variables that can impact a drone’s ability during a search and rescue (SAR) mission?

Tampa Bay drone and robotic services company FLYMOTION has joined the expanding list of homegrown and national businesses and emergency responder organizations now hard at work to locate and care for survivors, and assist large areas of southwest Florida start recovering from the devastating passage of Hurricane Ian.