In the last week, the Campbell Police Department (CPD) has been granted a historic waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand its Drone as First Responder (DFR) program to conduct single-person operations.
CPD, a suburban police department outside San Jose, California, has operated a DFR program utilising a human visual observer since 2022. The groundbreaking latest approval allows them to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) DFR missions without the need for a human visual observer, enabling a swifter deployment of drones to both emergency and non-emergency incidents.
The goal of this expansion to the DFR program is to provide first responders with advanced, critical information, enhancing their ability to respond effectively for a higher level of public safety. By adding advanced optical and radar sensors, the CPD is now also able to conduct during nighttime DFR operations.
The expanded program – achieved in partnership with Axon Air Remote, a collaboration of the capabilities by DroneSense, Dedrone by Axon and MatrixSpace – provides remote drone operators with a single information window for airspace detection and drone operations instead of multiple windows.
The importance of collaboration has since been emphasised by Lori DeMatteis, Chief Revenue Officer, MatrixSpace, who said “combining the collective solutions of these partners has enabled us to build a more effective DFR operation for Campbell PD and one we can continue to improve upon as technologies progress.”
Campbell Police Chief Gary Berg further emphasised the importance of industry partners in the waiver being granted, saying “MatrixSpace has helped revolutionise how we approach situational awareness by providing next-level fused radar capabilities.” He continued to “with this FAA waiver, our department can now deploy drones more efficiently, ensuring that we continue leading the way in utilising technology to protect our community.”
For his part, Chief Charles L. Werner (Ret.), director of DRONERESPONDERS, said “this DFR BVLOS waiver, without a visual observer, is the first of its kind and is a great step forward by expanding the FAA’s acceptance of more technology to enable public safety agencies to implement DFR programs and eliminating the human VO requirement.”
Post Image Credit: MatrixSpace
