Drone Training Firm Reaches Out to Police

An American drone training company is launching a new program appealing to the fast-growing, public-safety sector. Argus Rising recently announced a new certified series of UAV training courses aimed at law enforcement, fire and search-and-rescue agencies.

The first level of instruction, known as Top Gun Bootcamp, is a five-day course aimed at newbie users and includes topics such as drone safety, FAA regulations, flight skills and an introduction to search-and-rescue operations, crime-scene photography and management of chain-of-custody drone data.

Students who “survive” bootcamp can move on to specialized classes such as “photographic orthometrics” – in short, how to gauge elevations and other data during flight and photography as well as an introduction to 3D modelling.

“Aside from the standard uses of drones for first responders Argus has developed a new way of managing crime-scene photography,” Argus Rising founder Allen Beach said in a press release.

“Argus can photograph a large outdoor crime or accident scene utilizing auto-pilot in just minutes and then process all the images into a single orthomosaic photograph with GPS designations and then we can turn that into a 3D Model,” he added.

“It’s a whole new way of looking at a crime scene allowing both detectives and juries to see things they have never seen before.”

Drone training programs tailored to law enforcement or public-safety agencies are on the rise.

Last year, Michigan-based Center Mass Inc. – a law-enforcement weapons and tactical training provider signed an agreement with the Unmanned Safety Institute to provide drone training to police across all the company’s Great Lakes facilities

In April, Piedmont Virginia Community College received FAA approval to conduct drone research and development for use by public-safety agencies. The school kicked off a new curriculum program in May that will include UAV pilot training, as well as technical training with a focus on drone deployment within police, fire and first-responder agencies.

“Drones have become such an effective tool in many areas, even beyond surveillance or locating lost or missing people,” Beach said. “Drones are streamlining many processes for companies worldwide and giving us information and data we wouldn’t have been able to collect previously.”