Drones have been proven to be useful tools in emergency situations like fires.  They are able to provide firefighters and emergency responders with a situational awareness without putting any further lives at risk.  A drone can safely fly over a fire and relay critical information to ground workers via a live feed camera.  The cameras are HD and often have thermal imaging as well allowing firefighters to plan the best course of action to put out a fire.  Drones are able to save firefighters precious seconds in decision making to protect lives.  There are some drawbacks though.

The biggest drawback is that the crew needs to have a licensed and trained operator to control the drone, meaning that a firefighting team will have to be down one member.  The other main issue is that these drones can sometimes take time to deploy, and once they are airborne they have a limited flight time because of their batteries.  A company based out of Zurich, Switzerland has designed a drone that eliminates those issues.  In 2013 Sergei Lupashin founded Fotokite, a company that makes an affordable, easy to use drone for emergency responders.

A former student of Prof. Raffaello D’Andrea, the world renowned aerial robotics expert, Sergei began his carer as the chief architect of the Flying Machine Arena.  He went on to run a startup called Perspective Robotics where he created Fotokite, a revolutionary drone.  Fotokite is a drone that is equipped with a GoPro camera and tethered to the ground.  The camera allows the ground crew to clearly see what is going on in the situation at hand.  The tether allows the drone to stay airborne for as long as needed and takes the need of a pilot out of the equation.  The drone comes in either a portable carry case or can be launched from an integrated vehicle system.  All that is needed is a simple push of a button and the drone is instantly deployed.  It flies autonomously and safely, without needing a Part 107 licensed operator.

The Fotokite is fully approved by the FAA to be deployed and used by anyone.  According to a statement they released, Fotokite is “the only UAS authorized by the FAA to be used by all public safety teams without requiring pilot licenses or individual authorizations to fly.”  They went on to say, “Fotokites uniquely deliver automatic and reliable hands-off launching, flight, and landing from a small vehicle-integrated enclosure while also providing 24+ hour continuous flight endurance and secure data delivery via tether, rather than wireless data transmission dependency. Thermal and visual video are streamed directly to first responder laptops, tablets, and even remote command centers to gain instant situational awareness capabilities. The lightweight, heavy-duty flight frame is designed for robust long-term operation in demanding environments and is IP55 rated to fly in rain, snow, and windy conditions.”

Fotokite has partnered with Pierce Manufacturing to bring their drone to firefighters in the United States.  Pierce Manufacturing, based out of Appleton, Wisconsin is the largest fire apparatus company in the world.  They create the trucks and gear used by fire and safety companies.  It was a perfect pairing of the two companies.  They have officially named the system the Pierce Situational Awareness System by Fotokite.  According to Fotokite’s website, “Pierce Fotokites are already being used in major fire departments across the U.S. and continue to help firefighters in their mission to save lives and preserve property.”