Dallas Avionics to distribute Bluetooth detection system for SAR operations
New agreement expands access to drone- and helicopter-mounted technology designed to locate Bluetooth-enabled devices during search missions
Dallas Avionics has signed a distribution agreement for the BlueFly detection system, a technology designed to help search and rescue (SAR) teams locate Bluetooth-enabled devices carried by missing people in challenging environments.
Manufactured by QRC Technologies, a Parsons company, BlueFly is designed to detect low-power Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals emitted by consumer devices such as mobile phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, AirTags, Tile trackers, and certain medical devices.
The system identifies these signals and estimates their location, potentially providing rescuers with another means of locating missing people when conventional search methods are limited.
Initially developed for deployment on uncrewed aircraft systems, the technology is now being made available for helicopter operations, broadening its potential use across airborne public safety and SAR missions.
According to Dallas Avionics, the system could support a range of operations, including searches for missing hikers, disaster response, and law enforcement missions in areas where dense vegetation, poor visibility or difficult terrain can hinder visual searches.
Cody Klaehn, Government Agency Sales Executive at Dallas Avionics, said: “Looking for lost hikers, conducting disaster response, enhancing border security, and even remote surveillance can be enhanced with BlueFly... [the technology] has been deployed with drones already, and now we will be offering its capabilities to helicopter operations also.”
Technologies capable of detecting personal electronic devices may provide an additional search tool alongside thermal imaging cameras, night vision systems, and mobile phone location data, particularly when operating in remote environments where conventional communications or visual identification may be difficult.
Elsewhere in the region, helicopter completion and maintenance provider Helicopter Services, Inc. (HSI) has been customizing a new Airbus H125 for the Dallas Police Department’s airborne law enforcement unit.