Application of Quadcopters within Public Safety

R

Robert Gerlach

New Member
I am exploring options for a quadcopter for emergency/disaster operations. As the Director for Emergency Management for Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, USA; I feel this technology can potentially be used to save lives or prevent harm to others. Some examples of the application of quadcopters for emergency management I can see are:
  • Search and Rescue
    • Would require night vision and infrared optics
  • HazMat
    • Instead of sending people to read the placard, send a quadcopter
  • Police
    • Similar to search and rescue, but for the “bad guys”
  • Code Enforcement/Inspections
    • Building and bridge inspection without placing a person on a ladder or other potentially dangerous situation
  • Emergency Management
    • Situational awareness
    • Damage assessment after disaster
  • Fire
    • Better view of incident
    • Infrared can locate area of fire, thus an efficient use of resources
These are just a few situations I can see quacopters applied within public safety to either take the risk from human life or efficiently manage resources.

The problem is commercially available quadcopters designed for these application in mind were developed for the military and have a price tag near or above $15,000. THAT is not within my budget.

I am reaching out to your forum to see if someone can guide me towards a reasonably priced solution or other scenario. I see this becoming a tool used frequently by public safety in the future and now is its infancy.

Some specification I would suggest for a public safety quadcopter:
  • Flight time = at least 45 minutes
    • Removable battery for quick change on the scene for extended operations.
  • FPV (First Person View) for “pilot” that is recordable
    • Second Camera that is able to stream (and movable) to a laptop for real-time viewing
Other specifications I would like, but not 100% needed:
  • Intrinsically safe electrically (so it would not ignite flammable gasses)
  • Have a two way speaker system to the pilot, or other person, could speak from the quadcopter to a crowd, etc and hear what they are saying.
    • For example: Search and Rescue – the pilot can ask the lost person if they are injured and give instructions to the lost person.
So, anyone out there know where I can find this or is there anyone out there able to build one? I do not have a large budget, but would be willing to partner to advertise and promote your product within the industry!

Please contact me:

Robert G. Gerlach
Director of Emergency Management, Hempfield Township
rgerlach@hempfieldema.com
724-834-7232, ext. 107​
 
You should talk to Long Range RC on this forum. He is a police officer that builds quads and has worked with the FAA to get approval for one of his models to be flown for the purposes you described above. He definitely has a wealth of information on the things you're looking for and he also builds quads for sale, if I'm not mistaken. The only thing I'm thinking you're going to have trouble with is that long flight time. That's going to be pretty hard to attain with the technology that is out there, unless you have a lot of money to spend or want to use some other fuel type (not electric), but that will cost a fortune to develop.
 
Intrinsically safe could also be a problem. I don't think the 45 min flight time limit has been reached yet. Many people have done it but I don't think anyone would/could guarantee it, there's just too many variables. I feel that this technology is still in it's infancy and you will see some amazing things a few years from now. What you want will be available eventually just not today.
 
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