Report identifies challenges of emergency drone use
The European Emergency Number Association and DJI have released a joint report, The use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) by the emergency services.
Belgium-based NGO the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) and Chinese UAV maker DJI have released a joint report, The use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) by the emergency services.
In April, EENA and DJI entered into a partnership for an in-depth analysis of how emergency services use drone technology with the aim of identifying best practices in terms of operational, technical, safety, privacy and legal issues. Four pilot sites were selected for the project, whose teams used UAVs for several months in a variety of operational scenarios: Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, UK; Donegal Mountain Rescue Team, Ireland; Greater Copenhagen Fire Department, Denmark; and Reykjavik SAR Team, Iceland.
EENA said five key challenges were identified at an early stage, and the participants were asked to identify best practices over the course of the project. Theses comprised: integration of RPAS in standard operating procedures; training of teams on the use of RPAS; hardware needs and maintenance; logistics; and the external framework for RPAS use.
Among the recommendations were to have minimum of two people to operate the aircraft – one controlling the vehicle, with the second analysing the video footage. It was also suggested that when considering hardware, operators should consider whether the platforms on offer are reliable and boast redundant systems.
Tony O'Brien, EENA deputy executive director, said: “EENA would encourage all emergency services to evaluate the benefit of RPAS for themselves and we remain available to support them wherever possible.”
Steve McLinden of the Med and West Wales Fire Rescue Service comments in the report: “It is apparent the role of drones and the requirements of emergency services in regards to future technologies will increase substantially over the next two to five years. Issues such as longer endurance, able to operate in higher wind speeds, optical devices that work effectively in bad weather and deployable payloads will be a vital requirement for us. In relation to software the ability to securely and quickly stream to remote locations determined by the end user as well as online virtual repositories for the images would be considered an advantage. As a Service we have gained a considerable insight into the use of drones in other European countries and this information has enabled us to develop our operational procedures to deliver an effective and vital response capability for our communities and our staff.”
Read the report here.