California advanced unmanned aircraft manufacturer Impossible Aerospace has announced Air Support, a product that it says will transform the world´s cities and the way they respond to emergencies, the company said.
Impossible Air Support is a turn-key program that lets cities dispatch drones directly to the scene of their 911 calls to improve emergency response times. Mounted on top of tall city buildings, the drones are controlled by police officers and firefighters from secure command stations within their departments. Once deployed, they can provide a live video feed of an evolving situation to responders on the ground, intervene in a situation with sirens or lights, or even deliver crucial supplies like life jackets or AEDs.
The company says Air Support transforms the way cities respond to several emergencies. In addition to providing an eye in the sky during active crimes, Air Support can autonomously search for missing people both at day and at night. The US-1 aircraft powering the system are equipped with powerful thermal cameras, the company says, which can see through smoke and help coordinate the response to massive structural fires.
The company says it is now in Phase One of its Air Support deployment, with several police and fire departments across the state of California now flying its US-1 aircraft. Phase two, it says, will involve a series of hardware and software updates that enable cities to perform more advanced missions using their aircraft.
Air Support drones will be equipped with sirens, spotlights and loudspeakers, the company said, so that first responders may use them to provide instructions from the air to emergency victims or suspects.
Impossible Aerospace builds high-performance electric aircraft that save lives. Founded in 2016 by former Tesla engineer Spencer Gore, the company unveiled its US-1 aircraft in 2018, unique for its long endurance and US origin. The company is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Eclipse Venture, and Airbus Ventures.
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