The vice president for technology for Rocky Mountain Unmanned Systems Jon McBride recently returned from Hawaii, but his trip was not exactly an exotic vacation.
McBride has family on the island of Hawaii, where the Kilauea volcano has been erupting for several weeks. While McBride's family was not directly threatened by the lava flows, they did feel some of the impacts of the eruptions on the island... And while he was there, McBride used drones to help out researchers, first responders and city officials. He worked with the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue as well as the Hilo Fire Department and other agencies to provide data related to the lava flows. Fire departments in Arizona are considering more and more how UAS could benefit their operations. Division Chief Don Devendorf believes that the Prescott Fire Department could find various ways to use this technology, especially considering that the department's response area includes mountain terrain right in town, along with other “usual city” firefighting challenges. Devendorf notes that in town, a payload that includes a thermal-imaging camera would be helpful. In an effort to
provide “safer, quicker, and more efficient response” to emergency situations, Canada’s Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) will launch a UAS program in June. Equipped with a thermal imaging camera, WFPS' UAS can help first responders locate individuals and fire hot spots, and it will also be able to identify potential structural issues. Incident commanders on scene will be able to see what the UAS sees in real-time, which will allow them to deploy resources “more effectively” to the emergency. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne-Unmanned!!!
Airborne-Unmanned 05.29.18 is chock full of info in this Weekly News Episode, Tuesday, May 29th, 2018... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:
- Utah Man Lends Drone, Expertise To Hawaiian Officials Tracking Lava Flows
- Arizona Fire Departments Considering Incorporating UAS Into Their Operations
- Canada's Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Launching UAS Program In June
- Drone Pilot Who Crashed Into Space Needle Avoids Jail Time
- ParaZero Announces Parachute Systems For DJI Mavic, Phantom Drones
- Kratos Receives $38 Million In Unmanned Systems Contract Awards
- Aero-TV: Ascent Vision at XPO18 - Defining and Detecting Drone Threats
Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again next week for the next edition of "Airborne-Unmanned" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, next week!
© 2018, Aero-News Network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved.
Aero-News: Quote of the Day (10.27.25)
See All