FLYMOTION Supports Daytona Beach Drone Program During COVID-19

Every day, the dangers of COVID-19 continue to threaten the health of  “essential business” employees, medical workers, and first responders as they serve their communities. We have seen the extreme efforts made by all through social distancing, contactless interactions, and sheltering in place. But the question remains- how do we further protect our public servants with jobs where exposure is inevitable?

The many solutions FLYMOTION provides are assisting agencies nationwide in their response to the coronavirus.

During a recent interview with Fox News, Sgt. Tim Ehrenkaufer, head of Daytona Beach Police Department’s drone program, spoke on how their program is keeping DBPD officers safe during this worldwide pandemic. In 2017, FLYMOTION assisted DBPD in creating a state-of-the-art drone program, ready to assist with their daily operations such as search and rescue, fleeing suspects, and accident reconstruction.

“When COVID-19 showed up, we tried to think, ‘How can we leverage this same technology to help keep our officers and the community safe?’,” commented Ehrenkaufer.

DBPD has been able to use the versatile drone fleet provided by FLYMOTION to preserve officer safety. At a distance, DBPD patrols can deploy UAS platforms, equipped with speakers, to instruct large groups to disperse in order to comply with CDC guidelines.

“We could fly them over these crowds, make an announcement, a nice gentle announcement; nobody wants to be yelled at, and ask them if they could please just disperse for their safety and ours.”

In general, the “talking drones” have surprised the public, but have proved to be a highly effective tool. DBPD has seen 100% compliance with the orders issued by their FLYMOTION drone solutions.

“[We] send the drone in there to make the same announcement and keep the officer safe, keep the community safe, and keep everybody happy.”

Some of the uses cases presented by drones during this pandemic are:

• Patrol Areas and Inform the Public
• Deliver Critical Supplies
• Disinfect Hospitals and Public Spaces
• Thermal Sensing

Looking at this list, many wonder how drones could be used to disinfect an area.

Sgt. Ehrenkaufer summaries this capability well, “Some drones that have been slated for agriculture, have the ability to add sprayers to the arms of them and you can load it up with whatever disinfectant you want to use, fly it over the area, let it mist out, and disinfect the area. You essentially could get a whole park within a matter of 5-10 minutes instead of sending in a crew of 20 people taking 2 hours to wipe everything down.”

Once the drone has disinfected the area, how would you disinfect the drone? FLYMOTION offers a one-of-a-kind solution for this as well, the DDK (Drone Decon Kit). Engineered by our resident HazMat specialist and firefighter for Southern Manatee Fire Rescue, Rich Gatanis, the DDK is a must-have for any organization looking to use a drone in a potentially infectious or contaminated area. Traditional decontamination methods can corrode or damage critical components. The Drone Decon Kit, developed by FLYMOTION in partnership with First Line Technology, includes everything needed to safely decontaminate your drone.

Advanced approaches are essential in our response to the coronavirus pandemic. As we work to flatten the curve, save lives, and protect those on the front lines, FLYMOTION can help your team have success stories just like Daytona Beach Police Department and Southern Manatee Fire Rescue. Our solutions continue to Support Those Who Serve, especially in times of crisis.