As emergency agencies embrace 21st century practices, drones have become more and more associated with them. Over the last few years, the ways in which drones can benefit police and emergency officers have continued to grow. Drones are being used in search and rescue, evidence collection, crime scene inspection, situational awareness, and much more. For many of the emergency offices that utilize drones, it is important to them to also support products made in the United States.

In 2009, MIT graduate students Abraham Bachrach, Adam Bry, and Matt Donahoe were breaking barriers with drone technology. Upon graduation, the trio helped Alphabet kickstart its Google Wing drone delivery project. By 2014, Abraham, Adam, and Matt decided to develop their own drone company, and Skydio was founded based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Using AI and autonomous technology, Skydio has become the leading US drone manufacturer. Everything that goes into a Skydio drone, from hardware to software, is designed and assembled in the US. Skydio is proud of the level of security and reliability this instills in all they do.

Skydio drones have become a favorite among police, fire, and other emergency agencies. On November 1, 2021, Skydio announced that they would be entering a partnership with another US based company that would make using a Skydio platform even more efficient. The merge would see Skydio adopting a software system used by countless emergency agencies across the country made by Axon. Based out of Pheonix, AZ, Axon has been providing public safety and emergency agencies the electronic software systems used to manage their day to day systems. Through an early release program, any public emergency agency flying a Skydio drone will have access to Axon’s evidence management system.

Axon’s latest product launch, Axon Evidence, automatically uploads any video collected images to a secure database. This includes images from cruiser dash cameras, body cameras, and now drones. The images are uploaded with all pertinent information such as the date, time, location, and name of the recording officer. “Drones hold the promise of massive positive impact for public safety, but physically transferring and manually cataloging photos and video footage from drones into a digital evidence management system is time consuming and error prone,” said Adam. “As part of Skydio’s strategic partnership with Axon, we’re excited to unveil this critical next step in helping public safety agencies quickly and easily organize their data via this new integration with Axon Evidence.”

Skydio also plans to integrate with Axon’s real time ground managing system, Respond. This will allow officers in the field to seamlessly coordinate with dispatchers, command staff, and drone pilots. The Skydio and Axon partnership will allow emergency agencies to efficiently utilize drone technology. This ultimately means that officers using the technology can focus on what is most important, protecting and saving lives, rather than making sure data is manually transferred. Skydio and Axon are making it possible for emergency agencies and drones to have a more symbiotic relationship.

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