The drones, or unmanned autonomous vehicles, are called PARC — short for Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications — and are different than those used by hobbyists.
The PARC drone is tethered to the ground by a thin wire which supplies power and data. This allows the drone to stay aloft for days at a time, even during rain or snow.
In the case of the marathon, the drone will have already been up in the sky for hours before runners even begin to line up at the start.
Perry Stoll, vice president of product and software for CyPhy Works, said the company is working with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to give public safety officials a real-time, high-definition video stream at their command center.
“We will be able to, from the ground, help them and get them the video of what is going on from that perspective,” Stoll said.
Drones come in all shapes and sizes, from small ones used by hobbyists to fly around or take pictures, to large, fixed winged drone aircraft. The PARC is not large, weighing about 11 to 12 pounds. Stoll said it’s considered a small drone per the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates their use, Stoll said.
The drone looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.
It is about the size of a basketball, and has six arms jutting out from its side like spokes of a wagon wheel. The end of each arm is fitted with a rotor and a landing leg. A small sensor tower is mounted at the top to handle GPS and other data. Cameras and other equipment can be mounted at the bottom of the drone.
“Everything is quick assembly, quick attach,” Stoll said of how the drone is put together.
Monday will be the second time CyPhy Works has deployed its drones to keep a marathon safe.
Last year, CyPhy drones were flown around the finish of the Tokyo Marathon, as the company worked with Tokyo Metropolitan Police on security measures there. Stoll said the company is excited to help out with a marathon much closer to home.
Advantages to drones
The drones have an advantage in providing a vantage point over some other measures.
While there will be helicopters overhead at this year’s marathon, they are expensive to operate, costing in some cases $1,000 an hour, Stoll said. In contrast, the PARC drone costs $50 to $60 an hour to operate. They can also operate closer to the ground, under the 400-feet FAA maximum altitude limit for drones. Helicopters will by flying at well over 1,000 feet.
The drones will not be flying over runners and spectators, Stoll said. They will be flown in a zone off to the side.
“We all hope at the end of the day it is a very boring day,” Stoll said. “That’s the outcome we want. That said, that is not how you prepare. You prepare in case something should happen and you want to be able to have video like this to help. It gives you an overview that is hard to get from the ground. Having that video, that perspective when you need it, can be a good thing.”
CyPhy Works was founded seven years ago by Helen Greiner, a pioneer in robotics. In September, Lance Vanden Brook became the company’s CEO, and Greiner moved to the role of chief technology officer.
Many know Greiner as one of the founders of Bedford-based iRobot, a consumer robot company that created the autonomous vacuum cleaner called Roomba, a squat circular robot that can find its way on its own around a room collecting dust bunnies and pet hair. This company also developed the PackBot, a bomb disposal and surveillance robot used by the military and first responders.
One note: While CyPhy Works has permission to fly its PARC drones over the marathon’s start, state police is asking people to park their drones at home for the race.
©2017 The Salem News (Beverly, Mass.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.