Bee Cave to launch autonomous drone program
The city of Bee Cave, in the US state of Texas, has announced plans to launch an autonomous drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program
The program will be developed by the Bee Cave Police Department, in partnership with Texan drone startup eve Vehicles, and is designed to operate autonomously.
The system is capable of dispatching a replacement drone to a call-out location if the first drone dispatched runs low on power and must recharge.
The DFR program will initially launch with a single drone – expected to begin operations – but is intended to eventually encompass four aircraft and three drone bases.
The drones, which have a battery life of between 40 and 45 minutes, will be used to provide a first response to incidents, offer an aerial view of traffic or wildlife incidents, as well as track suspicious or armed individuals in the area. Each drone is equipped with an 80X optical-zoom camera.
Troup County, in the state of Georgia, announced plans to establish its own DFR program last year.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.