lives; the right people can be deployed to the
right areas fast. Drone cameras are also being
used to assist with missing person searches,
deployed in areas where it would be risky to
commit to human or canine assets, or used to
assess the situation before sending in human
help. There are hundreds of cases around the
world where drones have found missing
people, both those who are on the run
or in danger.
Drones can also be used to capture essential
evidence, for example, during a pre-planned
operation, they can be stationed around a site
to capture video footage, and they can create
detailed ariel maps of a crime scene, creating 3D
models to present evidence in court cases.
The environmental benefits of drones are also
great, allowing councils to capture survey data
of their sensitive or high-risk areas, creating
detailed maps and elevation profiles, allowing
authorities to track erosion or count the
number of trees, leading to more accurate
environmental impact statements and cutting
the data processing when surveying new sites.
And most recently, as Australia struggles with
its worst bushfires in a generation, startups are
deploying drone technology that provides a
faster, more accurate way to measure fires.
Infrastructure is also important, and the public
sector is now using drones to inspect sites and
reduce downtime. For visual inspections of
assets that would require working at height,
drones can be used, causing minimal disruption.
A bridge, for example, can be inspected whilst
it’s in use, and drone footage can be saved in the
achieves for future investigations.Image: Maxim Zmeyev