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Autonomous Drones for Emergency Management

The technology continues to advance.

See this trade journal article on one company's ability to deploy drones for disaster purposes, Autonomous drone trialled for emergency management.

There really isn't much new on the technology front with this drone deployment. The ability to preset routes has been around for quite some time. The sensors and real-time monitoring are cool.

To make this drone and its technology totally useful, you need to be able to fly over people and beyond line of sight. That process continues to move forward here in the USA with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) being in the driver's seat.

Perhaps one of the best features is that the drone is not Chinese. There have been warnings coming from the Department of Homeland Security about purchasing drones made in China.

This manufacturer is from France. Hopefully the technology, functionality and dependability of these drones are better than Peugeot cars. Note, they were once sold in the USA, but withdrew from the United States market.

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.