Summary
Highlights
Resnick introduces the Lemur 2, their main in-market drone, designed to provide first responders with eyes and ears in dangerous places. It's the first drone with glass-breaking capabilities, allowing entry into structures, and features a two-way audio system for crisis negotiators to de-escalate situations, acting like a 'flying cellphone'.
Blake Resnick, founder and CEO of Brinc Drones, highlights their work in public safety technology, including a recent deal to supply drones to the New York City Police Department (NYPD). These drones aim to complement crisis management teams and police personnel, enabling faster response times in urban environments where ground vehicles might be delayed.
The October 1st, 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in US history, deeply impacted Resnick and inspired him to create better tools for first responders. He explains how confusion during the event, with plainclothes officers being misidentified, led to delays. He believes a drone could have provided critical aerial information to quickly identify the lone gunman and save lives.
Brinc Drones have been deployed in various critical situations. In Surfside, Florida, after a building collapse, their drones searched underground sections with structural engineers using VR headsets. Similar efforts in Turkey allowed drones to enter collapsed buildings, sometimes breaking windows, to search for survivors. Ukraine's emergency services also use 60 Brinc drone systems to search partially collapsed buildings from missile strikes.
Resnick addresses privacy concerns regarding drone use, differentiating between critical incident responses and general surveillance. He argues that for indoor SWAT drones, privacy concerns are minimal as these are intensely surveilled, dangerous situations where officers already wear body cameras and police helicopters are used. He emphasizes that drones are just 'one more camera' in such contexts.
For broader citywide networks of 911 response drones, Resnick stresses the need for thoughtful system design. Strategies include having cameras off or pointed at the horizon during transit to a 911 call and using drones solely for responding to active emergencies when someone calls for help, rather than for general surveillance.