Wisconsin police recently reported that with the help of their search and rescue drone, they captured a robbery suspect that was evading police. Amidst all the negative publicity surrounding drones and UAVs that has matriculated in the news recently.
In a “smart city” concept, a city will interconnect all public services using digital, information and communication technologies. The resulting enhancement in the quality and performance of urban services reduces cost and resource consumption within the city. Currently, sectors that have been developing this technology include government services, traffic management, energy, water and waste.
This vision focused on the public safety sector, which relates to the aforementioned news report out of Wisconsin. In a smart city, a 911 call would immediately dispatch a properly outfitted UAV to the exact GPS location of the caller.
Unimpeded by stop signs, road traffic and inefficient street travel, the UAV is able to fly directly to the scene. Its real-time video link to a squad car, fire truck and/or ambulance, as well as to the 911 dispatcher, would provide first responders with an accurate scene assessment.
Real time video link
The UAV provides video feed of a raging fire, mass shooting or riotous group in order to enhance the situational awareness of the responding officer(s). With this technology, first responder safety is not only enhanced but their ability to effectively deal with the situation as it is presented is increased.
Smart city technology is coming. It is not a technology of the distant future. The use of a search and rescue drone to get a violent offender off the street yesterday is testimony of its effectiveness at enhancing public safety.
Increasingly with drones it is realized that you can interact physically with the world around you in a much wider circle, beyond your own reach both personally and as an enterprise. UAVs provides a three dimensional view of your business and enables customers to redefine their industries.
According to Airborne Drones, drones (UAVs) are an important part of the Internet of Things.
– They can be summoned to carry objects from one location to another.
– Equipped with Wi-Fi, they can provide broadband connectivity on demand to places where it would otherwise be unavailable.
– Equipped with video cameras, they can show us what’s going on in locations where we might otherwise have to guess or, when one needs to oversee conditions in remote locations that are tough to monitor.
Equipped with RFID antennas or sensors, they can help us track objects or people, or alert us to changing environmental conditions.
