Project Lifesaver drone from Loudoun County
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office drone is the first in the State of Virginia and the sixth in the US to be equipped with a Project Lifesaver antenna.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) has reported how it recently acquired a small unmanned aircraft system, making it the first in the State of Virginia and the sixth in the US to be equipped with a Project Lifesaver antenna. The Project Lifesaver programme is an electronic locating system for people with medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s or autism, who are at risk of wandering from home and becoming lost.
Project Lifesaver clients are equipped with a wristband transmitter that emits an automatic locating signal. If the client becomes lost, the specially trained deputies with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Search and Rescue Team will now use the drone, equipped with the Project Lifesaver payload, to help locate the client.
“Project Lifesaver continues to offer the client’s caregiver peace of mind. This new technology will allow our deputies to more efficiently search for residents in the Project Lifesaver programme and other missing persons and bring them home safe,” said Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman.
LCSO currently has 107 clients in the Project Lifesaver programme. The sheriff’s office said it implemented Project Lifesaver in 2010 and has been 100-per-cent successful in locating 23 missing clients over the past seven years, with many being rescued in under 30 minutes.
The LCSO quadcopter is also enabled to carry infrared and high resolution video cameras to assist in search and rescue operations. The members of the LCSO Search and Rescue Team who operate the drone are all are pilots licensed through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).