A large white box sits on the roof of this Mexican police car. It houses a drone that can take off from the vehicle and return to it. Mexico City’s Gustavo A. Madero borough uses these mobile launch points for its new drone unit, Fuerza Centinela.
It is a practical idea: police take the launch point wherever it is needed. The drone then provides a view from above while officers continue working below. The presentation footage shows several equipped vehicles together and operators keeping an eye on their aircraft.
Eight drones, four mobile launch points
According to supplier and training provider Cielito Drone, Fuerza Centinela has eight drones, four mobile units for automatic take-off and a mobile command post. Police operate the system, which also supports emergency services.
The company says the drones have conventional cameras, thermal imaging, automatic tracking and loudspeakers. Thermal imaging makes temperature differences visible. During a search, that can give an operator information a regular camera alone cannot provide. A loudspeaker also lets them address people without standing right beside them.
A camera that is not fixed to a pole
The useful difference from a fixed surveillance camera is its position. A drone can hover above an incident and change its viewing direction. Live images go to the mobile command post, where staff can assess the situation and support colleagues on the ground.
Cielito lists searching for missing people, surveying fires and floods, and monitoring large crowds among the uses. For that work, the aircraft is only one part: the connection, camera and people interpreting the images all need to work together.
Automatic flight still needs people
A drone that takes off from its station and returns automatically does not take over the whole police job. Officers decide what task is needed and how to use the images. That is also why Cielito trained the operators. Ultimately, the striking box on the roof helps those people obtain a useful view from above more quickly.
