DJI has been a leader in the use of drones for emergency response, forming key partnerships with large firefighting operations around the world to expand use cases and explore new applications.  Now, DJI announces a partnership with Rosenbauer International AG, the global leader in the manufacture of firefighting vehicles and equipment.   “From today, the two companies will work together to bring the benefits of digital emergency response management to anyone involved in being called to tackle an emergency situation,” says the DJI announcement.

The integration of aerial data with Rosenbauer’s operation management system could be a major step towards making firefighting safer and more efficient – and to making drones a must-have piece of equipment.  The operations management system provides firefighting crews with data like fire safety maps, hazardous material data or vehicle rescue sheets. Now, teams will also have seamless access to aerial data from DJI’s drone fleet management software, FlightHub: depending upon the drone and sensors used, both visual and thermal data. “This information can then be relayed to operational units at the scene on a tablet or displayed on monitors back at the command center giving a full overview of the situation,” says the announcement.  “Informed decisions can be made in real time regarding the efficient and safe deployment of resources such as personnel, vehicles and other equipment.”

From DJI’s announcement:

“Speed and a truly complete overall picture are key criteria for success when emergency service teams have to make purposeful decisions under time pressure. We have already supported their efforts to meet these criteria with our IT solutions, which range from efficient vehicle management to navigation, right through to alarm applications,” said Dieter Siegel, CEO of Rosenbauer International. “This cooperation with DJI enables us to consolidate our role as a digital pioneer while we work together to develop an integrated technology for comprehensive, data-based firefighting and disaster management.”

Roger Luo, President, DJI, said, “DJI is proud to bring its drone technology to support Rosenbauer’s excellence in fire apparatus manufacturing and its vision of empowering firefighters with the best possible tools for emergency response and disaster relief. At DJI, we aim to provide reliable, scalable drone offerings that empower firefighters, search and rescue and public safety teams to benefit from this technology. It plays an increasing role in saving lives, time and resources on a daily basis. This integration is an important step for this long-term partnership, and our commitment demonstrates an increasing maturity in the adoption of drones for firefighting professionals.”

While the partnership is focused on the firefighting application, the DJI announcement directly addresses any concerns about data security:  “Data safety is paramount and all information that is delivered to the Rosenbauer operation management system in real-time, and from DJI’s FlightHub, is stored on a server in the highly secure computer center of a well-known European telecommunication firm. The data traffic is secured and encrypted. During deployment, the data is also synced with all mobile end devices so that every operational team has the same information, and it is kept in a closed loop.”

Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
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