Here we profile some of the latest developments from companies exhibiting at IFSEC International 2019.
Following permission from French civil aviation authorities to fly its fully autonomous drones across France, Azur Drones has raised $10 million through three phases of financing from a French private investor. The company wants to make its autonomous ‘drone-in-a-box’ Skeyetech the standard for safety and security applications in France and worldwide.
The drone takes off from a docking station and is fully autonomous, not even needing a remote pilot. Operated by a security officer for example, the drones are capable of flying day or night and beyond the line of sight.
They can be used for carrying out patrols, reconnaissance and as support for crisis situations.
“Our system had to comply with the civilian aviation authorities’ requirements in terms of safety, reliability and quality, a process that was obviously very demanding due to [its] fully automated character,” said Stéphane Morelli, Azur Drones Managing Director.
In October last year the company announced a technology integration of its Skeyetech drones with Gentec’s Security Center video management system. The partnership aims to provide readily deployable and easy to use drone technology using Gentec’s interface.
Lorenz Technology specialises in taking off-the-shelf drones and making them intelligent through an embedded platform and via a user-friendly interface. As the company puts it on its website: “We are a software company on a mission to make all drones autonomous in the air, on the ground and underwater by developing AI-based intelligent drone software.” Features of the intelligent drone include:
While airports have been relatively slow to adopt counter-drone technology, it has been deployed in military environments, prison perimeters and at public events.
Dedrone will also be participating in a panel discussion at the Keynote Arena at IFSEC International on 19 June entitled: Understanding Drones – Everything you need to know from the technology to the legislation.
Drone supplier Percepto will be launching the next generation of its industrial and enterprise grade ‘drone-in-a-box’ solution, which includes software improvements and an enhanced all-weather base station. The company will also be streaming live video of autonomous drone flights overseas to its stand at IFSEC. Visitors to the stand will be able to see how its Sparrow drones take off automatically to perform pre-scheduled tasks, such a patrolling a perimeter. Should a drone detect an object of interest, an alert is automatically triggered with real time video being transmitted to the control room operator.
“Drones will become part of the fabric of security and surveillance operations,” says Percepto’s co-founder, Ariel Avitan. “Whether deployed standalone or fully integrated with the control room VMS or other security systems, Percepto provides security teams with a level of aerial surveillance that – until recently – was inconceivable and unattainable for the vast majority of large enterprises.”
Singapore-based ST Engineering has a team of drone operators experienced in aerial imagery for commercial and public safety applications. Its range of commercial and bespoke unmanned aerial services (UAS) fleet is suitable for various applications in day and night-time conditions, and is equipped with high-accuracy positioning systems, 4K zoom cameras and thermal imaging capability.
These services can be used for emergency search and response situations, enabling rapid response teams to make quick assessments prior to deployment, and for construction and infrastructure inspection.
The company’s DroNet is a drone-agnostic operating platform that can integrate highly autonomous and multi-function networks of UASs. Suitable for operating in urban areas, it can be used by police forces and facilities management teams to carry out facility/perimeter security, buildings/site inspections and deliveries.
To combat the menace of drones that are on the wrong side of the law – such as those last Christmas that led to severe disruption at London Gatwick airport for several days – ST Engineering also supplies the SkyArcher counter-drone system. The system is designed to detect and disrupt unauthorised drones which may pose public safety and security concerns. It comprises an RF and visual detection module, a control and synchronisation module, and an effector module to provide all-round RF and visual detection of intruding or unknown flying objects. When necessary, the SkyArcher can electronically disrupt or take control of targeted drones.
Also in the counter-drone sector, the aptly named Dedrone will have your back covered. Its RF sensors are purpose-built for airspace security and can detect, classify and locate drone activity even before the drone is off the ground. Additional sensors and passive or active countermeasures – such as video or jammers – add extra layers of security and integrate directly with the software. Additional sensor hardware such as radar, infrared or acoustic devices can be added for extra capabilities and data.
This year, Dedrone launched its DroneTracker 4 technology, which offers enhanced features for operators. These include:
• New analytics to uncover patterns in drone activity
• An alert heatmap which gives a quick overview of hotspot activity
• Tracking of multiple drones simultaneously
• Regular and automated reporting for further analysis and insights
All these companies will be exhibiting at IFSEC International, 18-20 June at ExCel in London. Why not pop along to their stands and see how far drone technology has come?
