ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES that first responders and even industrial operators have around being able to utilize drone technology does not relate to the tools themselves. Instead, they face public scrutiny as members of the public express concerns about their privacy when they see a drone flying near them or their home. These concerns and fears will begin to dissipate in 2017, not just because of the public awareness campaigns that are designed to specifically address these concerns, but also because drones will be able to create and showcase so many more benefits. Jeri Donaldson is the CEO and owner of FlyCam UAV, a UAV systems integrator and builder and the US distributor for a UAV that carries sensors that detect radiological, biological and chemical threats. These are the sorts of capabilities that will help the public understand why seeing a drone in the sky should make them feel relieved, rather than threatened. “While the general public still has its reservations about UAVs as a whole, I believe that once they see the benefits and life saving capabilities of UAVs they will have a more open mind about them,” said Donaldson. “As stories of their abilities to locate a stranded hiker or detect a radiation leak before it becomes critical become common place, the media will focus on the positives of UAVs which will help the general public become more accepting of them.” That acceptance will come once members of the public understand that if a swimmer can’t swim back to the beach because of a rip tide, a UAV could be flown out to the swimmer with a flotation device. A thermal camera mounted on a UAV can be used to find a skier trapped under the snow after an avalanche. These uses can resolve emergency situations in a far quicker manner, but not having to put additional lives at risk is just as important of a consideration. “Whenever you can take the human element out of a potentially dangerous situation it’s a positive,” Donaldson mentioned. “Before we started using UAVs to carry chemical and radiation detection sensors the job of checking for leaks fell on an individual or group of individuals to put on a hazmat suit and hand carry detection devices into the contamination area. Now radiation levels can be monitored or tested from a safe distance.” There is no limit to the life-saving capabilities of UAVs, and as the public as a whole begins to understand this concept in 2017, more organizations and departments will be able to adapt the technology.
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