Texas police department using autonomous drones to respond to emergency calls
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BEE CAVE, Texas (KXAN) —The Bee Cave Police Department will soon be working with autonomous drones.
The department partnered with Austin start-up, Eve Vehicles Corporation, which will allow for enhanced first responder capabilities.
When an emergency call comes in, an officer or dispatcher puts in the coordinates, and the drone takes off. No one will be flying the drones.
Bee Cave Police Chief Brian Jones said the drones can respond to an any emergency and serve as the eyes and ears for first responders on scene or who are on the way.
“The drone will be able to launch all by itself without a pilot at the command,” Jones said.
When they need to recharge, or dispatch relieves them, they head back to their nest and wait for their next mission.
“The drone will be able to be the first one on the scene and will provide real time information and feedback to what our officers are in route to,” Jones said.
Roger Pecina is the CEO of Eve Vehicles Corporation . He said there are three drones which will be spread out in different locations around the city.
“Think of the drones and the stations around the city a little like birds in a nest,” Pecina said. “So the closest bird to that 911 call is the one that goes (to the scene). Then when the call is over the bird (drone) comes back to its nest, then it recharges and waits for its next call.”
As the drone flies live video will be fed back to police, who can then monitor what is happening.
“It can fly for more than 40 minutes on a single charge and in testing we have gotten it up to 67 miles per hour,” Pecina said.
Jones said it’s just another tool to keep people in the community and first responders safe during emergencies.
“This is just another innovation that the police department here in Bee Cave is embracing in order to better serve out community.”
Eve Vehicles Corporation said one of the drones should be up an running in the next week with the other two to follow shortly after.
Pecina said a lot of the early testing revolved around safety. He said the drones will be equipped with parachutes that will automatically deploy if something goes wrong.
