Drones can help to narrow the inequality gap between rural and urban areas.
https://www.facebook.com/WEFvideo/videos/390689581690001/
FLY SMART, FLY SAFE
The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) said it had 11 drones, three of which had been certified by the Spanish Meteorological Centre to gather evidence.
The remote-controlled aircraft will monitor areas where accidents frequently happen and roads used by large numbers of cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. They will also be used at large events that cause heavy traffic and to assist the emergency services.
Photographic evidence gathered by the certified drones will be sent to civil guard traffic officers as soon as offences are committed, or relayed later to the relevant authorities.
“In the early days of August, the three [certified] drones will be in the Canaries, where we don’t have helicopters, so we can cover things,” said a DGT spokesman. “After that they’ll be sent wherever they’re needed. There’s no set plan yet. The other eight will also be deployed wherever they’re needed depending on traffic flows.”
The DGT said it was in the process of buying 20 more drones to be used for patrols and traffic control.
It expects 47m long-distance trips will be made as Spain enters the summer holiday period. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week alone, the DGT estimates 2.9m long journeys will be undertaken – twice the average for the summer period.
“Although 1 August is still the day when thousands of people begin their holidays, recent years have seen people choosing to break up their vacations and enjoy shorter periods away,” the directorate said. “That’s why the DGT will be deploying special traffic teams every weekend during the summer to assist drivers with their needs.”
UAV will focus on road users engaged in dangerous driving such as racing, say police.
The Metropolitan police will become the first British force to deploy a drone to monitor road users later this month.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will focus on road users engaged in dangerous driving, such as racing, that could potentially put others at risk, rather than targeting all speeding motorists, according to the Met.
Once a suspect has been spotted, information will be relayed from the drone to officers further along the road so they can pull them over.
Police are keen to point out that the drone’s remit will be as much about deterrence as catching lawbreakers. The Met would not say whether more UAVs would be brought into service if the first proved to be a success, citing operational security.
Det Supt Andy Cox, the head of the Met’s roads and traffic policing unit, said: “This is one of many enforcement tactics being used. Its aim is to deter dangerous driving and we hope the message of ‘drive lawfully, stay safe and keep a clean licence’ is widely understood.
“However, deterrence is sometimes best achieved through intense enforcement and that’s what this capability enables.”
The drone has a night vision function and will be able to operate at both high and low altitudes.
Cox said: “The focus will be on dangerous drivers who are racing and those putting their lives and other people’s at risk.”
More than 60 people have been killed on London roads in 2019, with eight deaths in a five-day period last week. Cox is the Met’s lead on Sadiq Khan’s Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate all deaths on the the capital’s roads by 2041.
In France, police have been using drones since 2017 to catch vehicles driving dangerously, such as trucks that are tailgating other vehicles or motorists who illegally overtake. Police in Bordeaux catch up to 20 vehicles an hour, issuing them with on-the-spot fines.
8th July 2019
Dangerous Jobs: can tech make them safer?
Earlier in the year, ARPAS-UK was approached to help find people and companies to feature in the following podcast. We’re delighted that ARPAS-UK member, Surrey Search & Rescue were successful.
Listen to James Russell talk to Jason Bradbury and Stuart Witts about using drones in dangerous places with Surrey Search & Rescue. He’s the first person interviewed at about 3.25 minutes in.
Brecon Mountain Rescue Team has been authorised to use drones for searches.
Over the next 6-12 months the team’s 7 CAA licensed drone pilots will be developing a drone search and rescue service.
The team has been developing a waterproof search drone with the ability to lift small items and is due to take delivery shortly.
They say the drone under development will be able to deliver vital medical supplies, like a defibrillator, directly to a casualty site. The team is also hoping to develop techniques to guide and assist lost walkers making such operations less resource and time consuming.
ARPAS Statement – BBC 2 Documentary “Britain’s Next Air Disaster? Drones?” – Aired Mon 1 Jul 2019
ARPAS members have expressed deep concern and criticism of the BBC Two documentary, ‘Britain’s Next Air Disaster? Drones?’, which aired on Monday 1 July 2019 and which focussed heavily on the illegal and malevolent use of drones in UK airspace, exaggerated the risks and presented a one-sided view that has the potential to harm the livelihood of ARPAS members.
ARPAS acknowledges that mid-air collision, unauthorised flight within restricted and sensitive airspace as well as deliberate nefarious use, are the most credible causes of a serious incident involving a drone but a balanced assessment of risk is always a combination of severity and likelihood. ARPAS believes the programme overemphasised the former and neglected to realistically assess the latter.
As a public service broadcaster, the BBC has a responsibility to provide its viewers with balanced reporting which, on this occasion, we believe it failed to do. ARPAS is the UK’s trade association representing the unmanned aviation industry and we would hope that in the future, programme makers ask us to contribute in order to gain a more balanced view.
ARPAS vigorously supports the legal, safe and legitimate uses of drones and strongly believes this represents the vast majority of recreational users and all the commercial users amongst its members for whom it will continue to advocate.
ARPAS has raised a complaint with the BBC and contacted BBC Points of View. We encourage you to do the same.
Links:
Contact:
Late last week, the equivalent of about two months’ rain fell in two days, forcing 1,000 people out of their homes – about half the population – and flooding nearly 130 properties in the Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, UK.
As the rain fell, it became crucial to the Environment Agency and the Emergency Services to map the flooding and monitor the River Steeping. The River broke its banks on Wednesday 12th June.
More than 340 tonnes of ballast were dropped by RAF helicopters to shore up a breach in the wall of the River Steeping after it burst its banks on Wednesday.
High-volume pumps were deployed by the Environment Agency to move the water away from the local area and into the catchment area for the River Haven near Boston.
However, more rain is expected on Tuesday and Wednesday and the MET Office has issued a yellow weather warning.
Lincolnshire Police have operated drones for a few years now, to support their more traditional means of policing Lincolnshire. They have been used to great effect, locating missing persons, finding those who run from RTCs, assisting with crowd dynamics, burglaries, and more. They also have thermal imaging capabilities, which are ideal for night flying too. They are also conducting Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) training for many scenarios too.
On June 15th at 16:15, an Emergency Restriction of Flight was put in place in the area of Wainfleet and Thorpe Saint Peters from the surface to 2000ft. This applied to all manned and unmanned aircraft. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority were able to put this into effect with only 30 minutes warning. Those needed to support the operation were given authority to fly, while all others were ordered to stay away to ensure the safety and smooth running of the operation. We will see these quick notice NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) appear more often as drones usage increases too.
The Linolnshire Police Operators monitored the situation all through the night and all the next day. The ERF was lifted on Monday 17th June at 11am.
A round up of our @lincspolice drone, dawn to dusk tasking supporting @envagency @LIncsfirerescue with a real time flood imaging from above in #wainfleet. Finding the most effective locations for High Volume Pumps. #policingwithpride @LincsSpecials #Lincolnshirefloods pic.twitter.com/XEtKEUN5hQ
— Lincolnshire Police Drones (@LincsCOPter) June 17, 2019
Lincolnshire Police use the Aeryon R60 Skyranger, which – as you may have worked out – can fly in the rain and relatively high winds.
While much of this could have been done by helicopter, and they were used by the RAF to deposit the sandbags, drones offer a highly cost effective means to monitoring, meaning resources are stretched further to provide better support to the people of Lincolnshire.
Congratulations to a well run operation and thank you for all your hard work. #DronesForGood
Lincolnshire Police Drones Twitter: @LincsCOPter
Drone technology presents an unprecedented opportunity for businesses and society. From reducing traffic on our roads, to speeding up the delivery of aid and urgent medical supplies, there is much drones can do. They are already proving an excellent tool for businesses, who are using drones to better manage and maintain their assets and reduce the amount of working at height. They are also capable of going into hostile or inaccessible environments for the purposes of search and rescue or research, relaying images and data and bringing new capabilities to sectors such as the emergency services, academia and the scientific community.
But to deliver on the promise of drones, it is important the public is on-side and businesses see and understand the potential. To achieve these goals there are some hurdles to overcome.
PwC research into public and business attitudes towards drones has revealed less than a third (31%) of the UK public currently feel positive towards drone technology.
Our research also found many people are unsure and waiting to be convinced. Others admit they simply don’t know enough about the technology. One member of the public described drones as “amazing but scary”. A business respondent said they are “not sure what [drones] are capable of doing”.
Public and business trust is there to be won. But to do so requires three factors to be addressed: Education, Accountability and Reward and Benefit. It is human nature that we trust things more when we understand them, when we know who to contact if something goes wrong, and we know what’s in it for us.
Read more: https://www.pwc.co.uk/trustindrones
The research was carried out during April 2019 by Opinium. It surveyed 1,520 UK adults, sampled and weighted to be representative of the UK adult population, and 252 senior business decision makers in sectors likely to see increased drone usage.
ARPAS-UK member, iRed has confirmed that it has been appointed as the first DJI educational partner in the UK.
The collaboration grants exclusive access to the new Tello EDU drone and accessories, specifically designed for schools and educational centres.
iRed said it was pleased to add DJI to a list which includes CITB, Lantra, BINDT and the CAA which recognises the Hampshire-based firm for educational and specialist training.
As part of the announcement, iRed detailed how the DJI Tello EDU drone offers a fun way for students to learn programming in languages such as Python, Swift and Scratch.
By programming the DJI Tello EDU drone to perform operations solo, or even in swarms, the students can see the results of their efforts happening physically in front of them, rather than just a display on a monitor.
In April, CDP reported on how becoming a DJI retailer had helped iRed hit £1m in turnover.
iRed has released its results for the financial year 2018-2019, returning a record breaking turnover of £1m.
As part of its growth, the firm outlined how since becoming a DJI enterprise dealer in 2017, it saw revenues increase by 300% in 2018.
Based in Emsworth, Hampshire, the company now employs 18 members of staff and has been praised by its local MP Alan Mak for creating highly skilled local jobs.
Ray Faulkner, managing director of iRed, commented: “Our strengths have been in embracing new technologies and applying them to a wide range of commercial sectors. This has enabled us to consistently increase our turnover year-on-year.”
He continued: “We’ve invested heavily in research and development over the last few years, which is now helping us to achieve our financial targets. This is aided by our reliability and consistency in service across all divisions.”
The Joint Operations Unit of Thames Valley Police (TVP) and Hampshire Constabulary are to roll out a pilot to test the capability of drones in policing in the two force areas.
A proof of concept trial will see drones being used across the Thames Valley and Hampshire, utilising them in a number of reactive and pre-planned situations.
Each force will have three drones at their disposal during the trial, and 34 drone operators have been trained across TVP and Hampshire. Another drone has been purchased for training purposes.
The drones can be used in a variety of incidents such as searching for missing people, responding to major incidents, capturing aerial crime scene imagery, at road traffic collisions, large public events and other policing operations.
The drones are made by Yuneec and are a six engine model with high definition, optical and thermal imaging cameras and flown up to a maximum height of 400 feet (CAA Regulations).
Members of the public will see the use of drones from mid-August when the pilot scheme goes operational for both Forces.
Assistant Chief Constable David Hardcastle, responsible for operation across Thames Valley and Hampshire, said: “We are launching a proof of concept to look at the effectiveness of using drones as an operational tactic for officers in the two forces.
“We will look at how drones can assist in a variety of overt policing situations with a view to rolling out the use of drones in both forces permanently, should the pilot be a success.
“This is an exciting opportunity for both Forces, which will mean officers can get an aerial view of large areas in a short periods of time, so their use should really assist with finding offenders suspected of crime or disorder and, missing people in large open expanses or wooded areas, providing live feeds for officers at major incidents or football games and protests and many other applications.
“Both Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary are committed to using technology to fight crime and make the public safer and hopefully the use of drones will be another tool available to do this.”
GFL