In emergency situations, first responders are increasingly relying on technologies and services to manage and control situations. Among the technologies used, drones are now considered one of the important assets in several cases such as fire response, search and rescue, and post-fire inspection monitoring. This is where Fotokite, a Zurich-founded company, shines with its fully autonomous Tethered drones that aid first responders manage critical situations.

How do Fotokite´s Tethered drones work?

Fotokite drones are physically linked to the ground with a high-strength cable called `the tether´, serving as a continuous power supply and a real-time data transmitter. Basically, tethered drones receive power from the ground station unlike battery-powered drones. This allows the tethered drone to operate indefinitely or for several hours at least.

Chris McCall, Fotokite´s Chief Corporate Development Officer and Chief Revenue Officer explains that Fotokite´s tethered drones do not require piloting, GPS, or computer vision. He adds: `no operator, no joysticks. We do away with all of the hurdles and complications of using a drone that requires you to focus on flying rather than responding.´

Fotokite´s tethered drone flies autonomously and streams thermal and regular video to first responders on the ground without piloting.

The use cases of Fotokite drones

Fire Response:

Safely size up a roof for hot spots, easily visualize and direct hose lines, or gain perspective from the front-line of a forest fire. At the push of a button, without the need for piloting, and without drawing team resources.

Search and Rescue:

Immediate elevated situational awareness helps to detect and direct team resources in SAR missions with significant efficiency gains. Quick scanning capabilities enable a scene-overview snapshot in seconds, giving you the information you need, when you need it most.

Post-Fire Inspection and Monitoring:

Continuously monitoring the incident scene for flare-ups with elevated thermal imaging and easy detection of heat concentration points, without needing to swap batteries or pilot the system throughout hours of the incident response and post-response.

Additionally, Fotokite tethered drones are heavily used in traffic management and infrastructure and event security. The drones provide immediate deployment for everyday on-scene response coordination and post-scene documentation, together with the capability of being installed as a remote deployable asset or mounted to security vehicles.

Fotokite took a huge step forward in the public safety industry, boosting first emergency responders with an unparalleled solution that will definitely save a lot of lives in the future.

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