New Drone Plans in Palm Springs
Palm Springs is planning to upgrade its police drone program next year with a project called Drones as First Responders 2.0.
Police Lt. William Hutchinson, who oversees the drones, explained that three drones will be set up in different parts of the city to respond to emergency calls without needing people to watch them directly. They plan to use radar systems to make this possible and are waiting for approval from both the City Council and the FAA to fly these drones beyond the line of sight.
Even though operating in Class D airspace near the local airport could be tricky, Hutchinson believes it’s not a problem. He mentioned, “Our local airport and local tower are very excited about the program.” They are working closely with the airport to create a safe plan to present to the FAA. People usually like when technology helps keep them safe.
Currently, Palm Springs uses a variety of drones for different missions. Their fleet includes several models like Matrice 300 and others.
Looking to Chula Vista and Beyond
The first DFR program in the U.S. started in Chula Vista back in 2018. Palm Springs wants to build on this idea. Instead of using visual observers like Chula Vista, they are looking at Campbell, which uses sensors to get FAA approval for similar operations. The plan involves buying new drone stations and drones, placing them at strategic points like fire stations and a downtown building. This setup is expected to cost around $111,000 and includes software support.
Hutchinson mentioned they will also develop a real-time operations center at their headquarters. To ensure community support, they plan to engage with locals to answer questions like who can operate the drones, what data is collected, and whether they have facial recognition or other capabilities.
To be transparent, Palm Springs will offer a public dashboard, like Chula Vista does, showing where drones fly and why. The only information stored will be related to specific incidents. For instance, if a drone is dispatched for a burglary, it records the scene until the suspect is caught and then points its camera away during the return flight.
Next Steps and Challenges
The formal proposal for the DFR program will be presented to the City Council in January. If approved, the department will move forward with purchasing equipment and applying for FAA approval. Despite potential restrictions on Chinese-made drones, Hutchinson remains confident in choosing DJI products due to their cost and quality advantages. He stated, “The way that I see this right now is, I can buy five drones compared to the price of one American drone and get far better technology and far better quality.” Hutchinson isn’t worried about Chinese drone issues; his focus is on immediate lifesaving technology.
As drone tech evolves quickly, they expect to update their fleet in a few years. The main goal is to start saving lives as soon as possible.
