Aerodome: Transforming Drone as First Responder Systems
:
Announced today, Drone as First Responder (DFR) solution Aerodome stands out as an revolutionary solution designed to make air support available to law enforcement teams of all sizes, through a mixture of technology decisions and business model. Co-founded by California law enforcement veteran Rahul Sidhu and Chief Architect Kenaniah Cerny, Aerodome is designed to align and integrate with the response workflows, from 911 call to community transparency.
![](https://dronelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/A9B1516-Edit-300x200.jpg)
Drone industry expert Brett Kanda is Aerodome’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. DRONELIFE interviewed Kanda to learn more about how Aerodome hopes to reshape the landscape of public safety and emergency response.
Built By Law Enforcement, for Law Enforcement
Aerodome founder Rahul Sidhu is a veteran law enforcement officer – and an experienced technologist. He and co-founder Kenaniah Cerny are the team behind SpidrTech, now a Versaterm company: an revolutionary automated platform that keeps 911 callers and stakeholders updated by text message, allowing law enforcement teams to get monetary savings and time while offering higher customer support to their community.
With Aerodome, Sidhu and Cerny are again honing in on a niche within the marketplace. “Rahul has been in public safety for a really very long time,” said Kanda. “He has been an EMS responder and worked in each fire safety and police. He helped to spin up the DFR program at Redondo Beach, deploying current DFR models. He’s spent a protracted time fascinated about what a software platform must do and achieve: he’s been an end user, he understands the gaps, understands the issues. He has flown over 1000 missions himself.”
Aerodome is built for the DFR environment of today and tomorrow: enabling fully automated distant operations and flight beyond visual line of sight of the pilot, without visual observers. Aerodome can be built for the realities of public entities and public budgets: it’s a hardware agnostic, all-inclusive DFR system offered as a subscription service, scalable for each budget.
The Way forward for Drone Response
The Aerodome DFR system is predicated on a distributed system of multiple drones and stations, as appropriate for individual communities. The workflow starts with a call for service. The software determines if the decision warrants a drone response: then robotically launches an aircraft from the closest drone dock, or “box.” This automation results in a surprising response time of about 3 minutes: providing officers en route with situational information before they arrive on the incident. With advanced tools including optical zoom, thermal imaging, night vision and augmented reality, responders get a live feed that allows a more prepared response and safer outcomes for all parties.
“Traditionally, when a call comes into 911, information have to be relayed to drone pilot after which the drone pilot must launch the drone,” explains Kanda. “Aerodome’s automation eliminates that step: Aerodome jumps the decision and deploys the drone as the decision is coming in. It is a low risk approach to respond in a short time to an incident.”
Kanda says that Aerodome is built for the long run of DFR: multiple drone stations staffed by a single distant operator. That’s an operational scenario already in use overseas: but fully distant operations with a single operator for multiple aircraft currently require regulatory waivers within the US.
The extent of automation that the system offers, nevertheless, removes a big barrier for a lot of law enforcement agencies right away. Drones can launch, fly, replace themselves, land, and charge with minimal staff intervention. “We are able to are available in and train a single person to operate the system,” Kanda says. “You don’t have to hire more people.”
BVLOS Flight
Distant operations require BVLOS flight. With groundbreaking waivers for BVLOS flight without visual observers already granted and a rulemaking on the horizon, Aerodome is designed to satisfy regulator’s requirements. By incorporating advanced detect and avoid technologies, ground-based radar, radio frequency sensors, ADS-B, and distant ID data, Aerodome enables drone pilots to operate safely BVLOS – and show their safety case to regulators.
Democratizing Access to Technology
Aerodome’s mission to democratize air support is a cornerstone of its strategy. By allowing customers to decide on the drone that most closely fits their needs and budgets, Aerodome ensures that its technology is accessible to a big selection of law enforcement agencies. The provision of assorted configurations, including a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) fixed-wing option, underscores Aerodome’s commitment to integrating with the hardware that gives the very best tool for the job, no matter manufacturer.
“We expect our customers should have the option to decide on the drone that works best for them,” said Kanda. “We help with the hardware vetting, and we will likely be going to market with the correct product for each environment and budget.”
Aerodome’s subscription pricing model makes the technology reasonably priced and accessible to all departments, scaling based upon the variety of units required and the needs of the person agency. It includes hardware, software and repair under one contract – making it easier for departments to include into their budgets and to future proof their programs against potential developments in hardware, software, and regulations.
“Law enforcement has been traditionally underserved by technology,” said Kanda. “Not all budgets are created equal. We would like to democratize air support: we would like it to be available to the small rural department and the massive cities. We had to actually think in regards to the economics to be sure that we could do this.”
Aerodome is designed and built for the rapidly developing way forward for DFR programs and drone technology: distant operations, BVLOS flight, and single pilot operating multiple aircraft. Because the technology continues to evolve and be embraced by a various range of law enforcement agencies, the promise of enhancing public safety and emergency response capabilities is rapidly becoming a reality. Fortunately for law enforcement agencies, Aerodome can be designed for the practicalities of implementing latest solutions in the general public sector, providing easier access to critical technology for departments of all sizes and budgets.