New Land Rover SUV Features Rescue Drone

Land Rover is launching a drone-equipped SUV that might save lives.

The Jaguar-owned firm unveiled Project Hero yesterday on the Geneva Motor Show – an “advanced communication vehicle” designed to be used by rescue businesses. The firm’s Special Vehicle Operations division partnered with the Austrian Red Cross to create the system and the company plans to trial the automobile within the coming months.

Unique to the Land Rover Discovery mannequin is a roof-mounted drone – a Taiwanese Align M480L quadcopter – with a 20-minute flight window and a high pace of 34 mph. The drone will seize stay footage throughout an emergency response that can cut back response occasions and assist rescuers assess injury and rescue techniques. An built-in touchdown system will enable the drone to land on the Discovery whereas the automobile is transferring. Captured video could be broadcast on to the automobile in actual time. The drone will also be managed by a pill app.

“The partnership is supporting communities around the world to become more resilient in the face of natural disasters such as monsoons, flooding and earthquakes,” International Red Cross Under-Secretary General Jemilah Mahmood stated in a press launch. “Project Hero combines the best expertise of the Red Cross and Jaguar Land Rover to create a truly unique vehicle, which we hope will be capable of making a difference to rescue operations in the toughest environments.”

Project Hero can be based mostly at a Red Cross coaching middle in Erzberg, Austria the place the realm’s mountainous terrain will facilitate natural-disaster take a look at eventualities reminiscent of avalanches and blizzards.

As drone deployment continues to flourish within the public-safety sector, a number of firms and businesses are partnering to create drone-centered, emergency response automobile methods. In 2015, Microsoft unveiled Microsoft’s Advanced Patrol Platform (MAPP), a drone-equipped police automotive managed by a cell gadget. The drone interfaces with the patrol automobile to coordinate driving instructions, suspect histories and dispatch comms, amongst different features.

Last 12 months, Microsoft additionally unveiled a software program bundle that gives safe cloud computing to authorities businesses and conforms to all law-enforcement compliance controls and restrictions.

Jason is a longstanding contributor to DroneLife with an avid curiosity in all issues tech. He focuses on anti-drone applied sciences and the general public security sector; police, hearth, and search and rescue.

Beginning his profession as a journalist in 1996, Jason has since written and edited 1000’s of partaking information articles, weblog posts, press releases and on-line content material. He has received a number of media awards over time and has since expanded his experience into the organizational and academic communications sphere.

In addition to his proficiency within the discipline of enhancing and writing, Jason has additionally taught communications on the college degree and continues to steer seminars and coaching periods within the areas of media relations, enhancing/writing and social media engagement.

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