A Texas police department could soon use drones to respond to emergency calls, according to Police Chief Brian Jones.
The Bee Cave Police Department gave a demonstration of its autonomous drone system Friday morning, known as the “AV8.”
The demonstration was part of a pilot project to test the AV8, which also consists of a computer system to keep the drones on target. Both are made by eve Vehicles, a startup based in Austin.
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“Well, it's a force multiplier for us, really, because it serves as an eye in the sky and gives us real-time information before an officer even arrives on scene,” Bee Cave Police Chief Brian Jones told FOX 7 Austin.
“We've gone through several generations,” eve Vehicles co-founder and CEO Roger Pecina told FOX 7 Austin. “We've been working on this specific concept for about two years.”
The drones' batteries, stored on board, offer a flight autonomy of about 40 minutes.
The AV8 autonomous drones are governed by a computer system created by eve Vehicles in Austin, Texas. (KVUE)
“And when that drone's battery is running low, it will call another drone from the network. They'll come and replace it,” Pecina told FOX 7 Austin. “And then this one will go to the nearest nest to recharge its battery.”
Drone routes are pre-programmed along local roads and highways to reach emergency call dispatch locations in the pilot program.
“The idea is once they have the address, they plug it into the AV8, which does all the math to see what drone is near that call and it autonomously goes to the location without a pilot. It arrives when it's on location and that's when the pilot takes over and can move the drone around to get better views of exactly what's unfolding,” Pecina told FOX 7 Austin.
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From there, the video is transmitted directly from the drone to dispatch, where the information is sent to Bee Cave police patrol cars and smartphones in real time.
The first deployment of the AV8 system could take place as early as next week, for limited emergency calls in Bee Cave, a suburb of Austin. However, the full system is not expected to be deployed for another month or two.
A future plan is already in the works with eve Vehicles to create a night vision option for the AV8 drones, as well as a parachute safety system. The drones are launched from “Nests,” which are open-air platforms.
Bee Cave Police announced a partnership with eve Vehicles in Austin to launch an autonomous drone program for emergency calls. (KVUE)
Three launch sites, including two local schools, were chosen for the Bee Cave AV8 pilot program. The schools were selected prior to last Wednesday's mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
“Let's say, for example, the Georgia school shooting, God forbid, something like that happened here,” Police Chief Brian Jones told FOX 7 Austin. “And we had the capability, this drone technology capability, we would have that information before officers even got to the scene so we can better prepare to engage a suspect.”
“We could know their location before officers arrive and we could better respond to that situation and possibly save lives,” Chief Jones told FOX 7 Austin.
There is no official start date for the Bee Cave AV8 pilot program.
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The Bee Cave Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
