Research initiative will explore public safety drone program growth, impact of COVID-19, and other emerging topics surrounding Drones For Good

MIAMI, FL – The Airborne International Response Team (AIRT), the leading 501(c)3 non-profit organization supporting Drones For Good™ and the official home of DRONERESPONDERS, today launched the Spring 2020 Pubic Safety unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) survey.

The 2^nd edition of the AIRT-DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety UAS Survey contains a series of questions designed to gauge the growth of public safety drone programs over the past year, as well as the potential impact of current news events and other emerging topics facing America’s first responders.

“The goal for this latest research initiative is to conduct a deeper dive into how public safety agencies and emergency management stakeholders are using UAS and related technologies,” says Christopher Todd, Executive Director, AIRT.  “We also want to better understand if the needs of first responders are being met by the commercial drone industry.”

2020 is looking to be a challenging year for public safety drone programs.  Both COVID-19 and possible U.S. Congressional legislation are threatening to affect how first responders use UAS.  AIRT will use the data gleaned from the survey to produce research products similar to last year’s DRONERESPONDERS White Paper series which was largely based on data collected in Fall 2019.

“The escalating costs associated with combating COVID-19 are already reshaping government budgets at every level,” says Todd.  “We need to decipher how this will impact the public safety UAS sector so both UAS program managers and solutions providers can adjust their projections if needed.”

Todd says the research output will again be made available at no cost to people who register for free at the DRONERESPONDERS website.  All public safety program leaders, managers, operators, and support staff are welcome to take the AIRT-DRONERESPONDERS Spring 2020 Public Safety UAS Survey by visiting http://survey.droneresponders.org

About AIRT

AIRT® (Airborne International Response Team) is a Miami, Florida-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that facilitates Drones For Good™ for complex emergencies and major disasters. AIRT is the official home of DRONERESPONDERS, the world’s fastest growing non-profit program supporting public safety UAS.  Our global remote pilot network is ready to #getup whenever disaster strikes.  For more information, visit: http://airt.ngo or http://droneresponders.org