If you’re familiar with mobile command vehicles for drone response, you know that most are some variation of a van with workstations. These vehicles, such as our TRIDENT series, play an important role in emergency response. They provide first responders with a comprehensive, self-sustained solution for resource-intensive incidents. 

However, large command vehicles can be impractical for daily operations. Operating and budget constraints can limit their use in routine calls, which means these big-ticket items are often sitting in a garage.

Seeing a need for a cost-effective and agile solution, FLYMOTION developed a mobile command and control unit that easily integrates into an agency’s fleet. We call it, MAVERICK. Our MAVERICK mobile command vehicle is designed to quickly deploy to incidents, providing on-scene support and overwatch with UAS.

MAVERICK can be built on a variety of SUV chassis. This flexibility allows agencies to upfit a vehicle they currently own, or purchase a vehicle that matches the rest of their fleet. In this article, we’ll break down FLYMOTION’s demo vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe PPV. Keep in mind that every component in our command vehicles is customizable so you can have a solution that works for you.

LIGHTING FOR YOUR MOBILE COMMAND VEHICLE

The lighting setup in your mobile command center is important to consider during the build process. For this MAVERICK build, we used a lighting package from SoundOff Signal which includes:

• 4x mpower® on the grille
• 4x mpower® running board lights
• nFORCE® Visor lights
• lightbars in the rear windows
• full-width, interior light bar in the back

We also placed two mpower® lights in the tailgate for scene lighting when it’s open.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR MOBILE COMMAND MODULE

Our MAVERICK features a custom command module by TruckVault. Highly versatile, this module integrates storage, power, and a display into one unit.

• L3 Harris radio 700-800 MHz, LTE-capable
• Airband radio
• 2x RJ45 network connections (LAN and WAN)
• 3x HDMI inputs
• 3000w inverter
• Shore power connection with auto-eject
• 2x 120v outlets
• 3x drawers with combination locks and custom foam inserts
• 1x full-width pullout tray
• 32-inch display
• 4-by-1 multiviewer

These are not the only options available for an operational module in a mobile command center, but this is what we chose for this MAVERICK build.

COMMAND VEHICLE INTERIOR

Our custom interior setup integrates seamlessly with the vehicle and provides the operator with easy access to control panels and multiple power outlets. Here are some items to consider when building out the interior of your rapid response command vehicle:

• Havis VSX console
• 12v DC outlet
• 120v outlet
• SoundOff Signal Blueprint console
• L3 Harris radiohead, linked to radio in the command module
• Havis laptop cradle
• SoundOff Signal interior dome light (red/white)

CONCLUSION

To reiterate, this is NOT the only way to configure MAVERICK. You can add, subtract, or substitute components through our custom-build process to create a vehicle that meets your mission requirements. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our build or want to see what your mobile command vehicle could look like, FLYMOTION wants to help! Our vehicle specialists will work with you to provide a detailed breakdown and answer any questions you might have. 

Are you ready to get started? Fill out the form below!

INTRODUCTION

On October 25th, 2022, the St. Petersburg Police Department responded to a desperate situation: an armed man had taken a three-year-old hostage in the cab of his pickup truck. Despite the volatile nature of the call and the complex operating environment, officers successfully rescued the child. Out of all the resources involved, one asset performed exceptionally well: the Spot robot by Boston Dynamics.

BACKGROUND

The department purchased a Spot unit after extensive research, including numerous calls with Boston Dynamics and agencies currently using the robot. According to the officer leading the effort, it was evident from the conversations and demos that Spot was miles ahead of conventional options. Encouraged by the positive impressions and a generous donation from a local benefactor, SPPD purchased a Spot unit with a Ridgeback payload from FLYMOTION.

Spot went to work almost immediately. Shortly after the department unveiled the platform, the robot responded to a barricaded subject call. While its performance during that operation was promising, Spot wouldn’t reveal its full potential until another incident late one Tuesday night.

On the evening of October 25th, police responded to the scene where 32-year-old Matthew Perkins had assaulted his girlfriend. The situation grew more serious when Perkins then fled, taking his 3-year-old son with him. A helicopter from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office managed to find the pair and followed them until Perkins crashed his pickup truck at the I-275 overpass on Gandy Blvd. 

When officers caught up with the vehicle, they ordered the father to step out, but he refused. Because of the danger posed to the child inside the truck, the vehicle stop quickly turned into a hostage rescue.

According to the responding officers, it was particularly challenging to assess the scene for several reasons. It was dark out and no one had a clear line of sight into the truck. Perkins had also blocked the windows with a blanket. Concern for the child quickly rising, SPPD called the robotics team from its Tactical Services Unit for assistance.

SOLUTION: A ROBOT DOG

Once on scene, the team’s first objective was to see inside the vehicle. When operators maneuvered Spot to the driver’s window to pull the blanket, the suspect fought the robot. An attempt to fly a drone up to the truck also proved unsuccessful; turbulence created by the drone’s rotors made it challenging to hover and see inside. As a last resort, officers used a pike pole to yank the blanket.

The operators then decided to employ Spot for surveillance. Enabled by the camera on Spot’s Arm, they could easily look over the window sill for a real-time view inside the cab. Incidentally, the team noticed that the Arm’s camera could pivot to provide angles not possible with a drone. As a result, the operators were able to see Perkins lying on the vehicle’s floor. 

OUTCOME

While they watched the truck, officers made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Perkins. As time went on, medics also grew increasingly concerned with the child’s condition, who appeared unresponsive on Spot’s feed. Prompted by this critical development, commanders ordered the SWAT team to end the standoff and apprehend Perkins. 

The Spot robot proved to be a crucial asset in this phase of the response. From the screenshots of the feed sent to their phones, the SWAT team knew how his body was oriented (which door he was facing, where his hands were, etc.). More importantly, they learned that Perkins had a large pair of scissors in his hand. Once the suspect dropped the scissors, the team rolled in, apprehended him, and rescued the child. No shots were fired during the operation.

SPOT ROBOT: TOY OR TOOL?

Incidents like this one confirm that this robot dog is not some novelty item; for the St. Petersburg Police Department, Spot is a lifesaving asset. The ability to quickly assess a situation in any environment without risking officer safety is crucial, especially during a high-stakes incident. And Spot’s abilities go beyond awareness, enabling officers to open doors and manipulate objects, further reducing the danger posed to first responders.

It’s for these reasons that many agencies around the country are looking to Spot and FLYMOTION as a way to leverage technology in increasingly-complex scenarios. Acquiring, assembling, and implementing advanced solutions like Spot is a challenging task — and FLYMOTION is here to help! Selected as Boston Dynamics Preferred Public Safety and Government Partner, we’ll help you navigate the entire process — from procurement to training — to ensure your team has what it needs for success.

How can your agency operate Spot? Contact us — we’re standing by to help!

Situational awareness is a key determiner of success during dynamic public safety operations. That’s why streaming solutions are crucial for the effectiveness of drone programs, as they provide incident commanders and other stakeholders with a real-time view of critical incidents. In this brief article, we will cover some hardware and software solutions you can use to stream from your drone controller.

1. Press-It by Panasonic

The Press-It is a simple plug-and-play, point-to-point transmission system effective up to 30 meters (approximately 100 feet). Both transmitter and receiver use HDMI connections, meaning they’re compatible with a wide variety of controllers and displays.

The Press-It is especially useful for pilots needing to project their feed to a nearby display — say a TV in a command vehicle — without the nuisance (or trip hazard) of a long HDMI cable. Because the transmitter dangles off of the controller, we recommend mounting it to the remote to ensure a strong connection. FLYMOTION offers a number of mounting solutions that can be customized for your controller.

2. DJI Video Transmission System

Designed to meet the demands of professional cinematographers, DJI’s Video Transmission System offers a low-latency, point-to-point connection. While it’s more expensive than the Press-It, this system can transmit video to a receiver up to an impressive 20,000 feet (6 km/3.73 mi) away. The transmission signal is also AES-256 encrypted to protect your video streams during sensitive operations.

This system comes with a 7-inch receiver/display rated for 1,500 nits of brightness. It also offers SDI and HDMI ports should you need to relay the stream to a larger display. 

3. DJI Flight Hub 2

If you fly the Mavic 3 Enterprise, M30, or Matrice 300, then DJI’s Flight Hub 2 is a software solution worth considering. Announced in March of 2022, the company’s operations management platform enables mission live streaming, cloud mapping, live annotations, and data management. 

At the time of writing, Flight Hub 2 is in public beta and free to use.

4. DroneSense

A third-party management platform popular with public safety agencies, DroneSense is an excellent option for first responders. DroneSense enables pilots, among many things, to share their feeds via a one-time-use link. 

Additionally, personnel on the ground can augment drone feeds by streaming video from their phones. All feeds are centralized in DroneSense’s Operations Hub, providing incident commanders with a complete multi-view picture of the incident as it unfolds.

DroneSense currently supports Autel’s EVO II Enterprise line, Parrot’s ANAFI series, and all DJI aircraft.

5. Dejero

Built for the broadcasting and live-production industry, Dejero uses software and hardware components to provide a robust streaming solution. With Dejero, users connect their drone controller to Dejero’s EnGo mobile transmitter, which then sends the feed to a Gateway and up into the cloud to a recipient anywhere in the world.

Dejero stands out from the other solutions on this list because it enables high-quality, low-latency streaming even on congested networks. Powered by cellular bonding technology, Dejero’s Gateway can use up to six different carriers to send data packets which are then assembled on the receiving end. As a result, Dejereo provides first responders with stable, resilient communications regardless of the environment.

Conclusion

Having the right streaming solution will not only make a difference in your efficiency but in your effectiveness as well. However, with so many options at different price points, it can be tough to decide. FLYMOTION is here to help! Backed by extensive experience with connectivity products, we will help assess your needs and find the solution that works best for you. Feel free to reach out to a representative here, or visit our website.

Drones have become an essential tool for public safety agencies to improve their response times, reduce risk, and save lives. Among the many options available today, the brand-new Autel EVO Max 4T promises to be one of the industry’s frontrunners. In this article, we’ll explore why the Autel EVO Max 4T can be such a great solution for public safety agencies.

1. Extended flight time

A 40-minute flight time has become a standard feature for new drones. Incidents can often last hours, requiring aircraft that can stay up for extended periods. Rated for 42 minutes of flight time, the EVO Max 4T allows operators to fly longer missions with fewer battery swaps.

2. Payload

The EVO Max 4T’s payload equips pilots with a 640p thermal sensor, a wide-angle RGB camera, a telephoto RGB camera, and a laser range-finder effective up to 1200m. 

This combination provides agencies with robust capabilities in one compact package. The wide camera allows pilots to see the entire scene, while a 10x optical zoom helps them to highlight points of interest from a safe distance. A thermal camera is especially effective during nighttime search-and-rescue operations. Lastly, the range finder enables precise distance measurements, particularly useful during inspection or reconstruction missions.

3. Durable and Portable

Autel designed the EVO Max 4T with durability and portability in mind. This drone touts an IP43 weather rating, which means that public safety pilots can deploy the drone in various situations with greater peace of mind. Additionally, the drone’s foldable design makes it useful during operations that require greater mobility, such as search and rescue missions in remote areas.

4. Intelligent flight modes

The EVO Max 4T includes intelligent flight modes designed to assist pilots during complex, task-intensive missions. One of the most beneficial features is Autel’s Object Detection, which enables the drone to detect and follow heat sources even while they are moving. This feature proves to be especially useful when tracking suspects or locating a missing person.

Autel’s Autonomy Engine is also something to note. These algorithms collect environmental data from the drone’s surroundings and compose three-dimensional flight routes that navigate complex landscapes such as forests, mountains, and buildings. This technology has various practical applications in scene reconstruction, industrial inspection, and land surveying scenarios.

5. Advanced safety features

Like most other drones in the Enterprise sector, the EVO Max 4T comes with advanced obstacle avoidance and return-to-home functions. However, the EVO Max 4T stands out as the only drone to combine traditional visual obstacle avoidance with a millimeter-wave radar. This additional sensor enables the Autonomy Engine to navigate the drone in low-light conditions, which would otherwise limit the effectiveness of visual systems.

6. Latest Connection Link

Finally, the EVO Max 4T is compatible with SkyLink 3.0, Autel’s latest connection system. SkyLink 3.0 uses six antennas and four frequency bands to provide a low-latency 1080p stream up to 12.4 miles. The link is also AES-256 encrypted for greater data security and offers 4G integration for BVLOS operations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Autel EVO Max 4T is an excellent drone for public safety agencies. Its long flight time, powerful payload, and intelligent flight modes make it an ideal choice for search and rescue, disaster response, and law enforcement applications. 

If your agency is interested in utilizing all the features of the Autel EVO Max 4T, be sure to fill out the PRE-ORDER FORM below! You’ll be notified as soon as the units become available.

As an Autel Robotics partner, we are willing to answer any question you have. Feel free to contact a representative or visit our website here to discuss questions, concerns, or other potential applications of this aircraft.

As threats evolve in complexity, it’s imperative to develop TTPs (tactics, techniques, procedures) to meet them. This is no less true in the deployment of unmanned systems. One approach growing in relevance is a tactic FLYMOTION has coined “Robotic Teaming.” As a concept, Robotic Teaming is simple: use two or more unmanned platforms in a coordinated effort to accomplish an objective. In practice, the tactic is a little more nuanced. In this article, we’ll cover the significance of Robotic Teaming, its nuances, and when to employ the tactic for ultimate success.

Why Robotic Teaming?

The common initial response to robotic teaming is, “why?” Why deploy multiple unmanned assets if one could fulfill the same purpose? It’s a valid question, considering the logistical and acquisition considerations required to use several platforms. The answer is simple: greater efficiency and effectiveness. 

Unmanned systems — UAVs, UGVs, USVs — excel in their respective environments. But in the game of tradeoffs, it’s clear that each system type is vulnerable where the others are not. Let’s quickly compare UAVs and UGVs as an example. 

Generally speaking, UAVs are fast and agile, capable of quickly covering large distances. However, due to obvious constraints, UAVs cannot complete manipulation tasks like lifting objects or opening doors. On the other hand, UGVs are perfectly suited for these tasks. EOD robots are a primary example of this capability, designed to lift, drag, or carry a variety of objects. But their greater power and dexterity, as you might imagine, often come at the cost of speed and agility. 

Advantages

Robotic teaming bypasses the tradeoff by using both systems to cover for each other’s shortcomings. This results in several advantages:

• Speed
  • A UAV and a UGV deploy at the scene of a suspicious package. The faster UAV clears each room and locates the package ahead of the slower robot. The operator can then guide the robot to the location in the most efficient way possible.
• Perspective
  • In situations where precision is critical, two perspectives are better than one. A drone hovering over a robot (or perched on a vantage point nearby) provides an additional viewpoint to overcome the challenge of a skewed depth perception often faced by operators. In other words, the drone feed becomes a third-person POV, providing spatial context to facilitate a quick and secure “grab.”
• Security
  • Deploying multiple assets at once means a responding team does not have to choose between covering a blind spot and investigating further. With a pair of UAVs, for example, a team can watch an exit while searching the rest of the building.
• Sensors
  • In more practical terms, robotic teaming enables you to take advantage of sensors available on one platform and not on the other. For example, most UAVs include thermal sensors, a feature not as common on UGVs or USVs.

Other Robotic Teaming Combinations

As we have alluded to in the third point, Robotic Teaming is not exclusive to a UAV/UGV pair. A team can also use several UAVs at varying altitudes, angles, and positions to significantly increase awareness. During K9 operations, for example, one drone may be assigned to track the dog while a second drone remains over the handler. This way, officers have eyes on the suspect and personnel during what is often a dynamic scenario. 

Multi-drone operations are easy with the right equipment. Teal offers a 4-Ship configuration for their Golden Eagle UAS that enables a pilot to simultaneously fly four aircraft with one controller. The result is an efficient force-multiplier solution with applications across a wide array of scenarios. You can learn more about the Golden Eagle here.

When should it be employed?

Of course, robotic teaming is not the perfect solution for every situation. There will be times when a quicker, more direct response is required. However, under most circumstances, this tactic increases the effectiveness of unmanned systems and minimizes the risks to responders. Here are two examples:

• Indoor operations: inherently dangerous due to obstructions, limited lighting, and other challenges like “fatal funnels.”
• Manipulation tasks: challenging depending on the robot’s capability, the operator’s skill level, and the operation’s complexity.

Conclusion

As a principle, robotic teaming encourages unmanned system operators to approach situations as direct tactical elements and reduce mission complexity by assigning distinct roles to each platform. Not only does this increase the overall effectiveness of unmanned systems, but it also reduces the exposure of personnel to hostile environments.

If you like to learn more about the elements of robotic teaming and potential applications, don’t hesitate to reach out! FLYMOTION’s Training Team has extensive experience employing this tactic and is willing to instruct, click here to contact them today.

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