Drones are quickly becoming the method of choice for many institutions to conduct their day-to-day activities. Allowing them to save time, resources and energy as well as proving to be more effective than most of the methods currently in use. Drones are also saving lives all across the world and a recent case in the UK is the latest case of a drone being used by authorities in rescue operations.

Thermal Imaging Drones

Police in Grimsby, a town 130 miles north of London, received reports of a man who had been spotted wandering away from a flipped car. The night was freezing and the police knew they didn’t have much time to locate him before hypothermia set in. They sent a search and rescue party on foot to scour the area for the man while they deployed their drones which have thermal imaging cameras to scan the area from above.

The drone quickly located the man about 160 meters from the crash site and the people in the command center directed the officers on foot to his direction. He was found unconscious in a six-foot ditch. The man was quickly attended to by the medical personnel, who saved his life.

Before adopting drones, the police used to ask for help from National Police Air Service which would then send a helicopter to the site. The helicopter would take some time to arrive at the scene, time which could mean the difference between life and death. The drone however, was able to get started with the rescue operation immediately and for only a fraction of the cost.

Drones are becoming widely adopted by police forces all over the world to help fight crime and to provide other services to citizens. The UK is among these countries turning to drones rapidly, with Devon and Cornwall police departments having teamed up last year to launch the country’s first 24-hour drone service.

The DJI Inspire Quadcopter is the most popular drone in use, with the DJI Mavic also being used in some instances. The police use the drones to gather images from crimes scenes, assist in searching for missing persons, monitor traffic and help in the fight against wildlife crime which is rampant in the woodlands.  France and the US are also using drones to fight crime and during the next few years we can expect to see many more countries added to this list.