An NYPD Veteran’s Perspective on Why Autonomy Matters for First Responders

Drones can be a great way to help first responders to be more effective at their jobs. Public safety drones are capable of enhancing situational awareness for responding officers while keeping them safe, improving accuracy when documenting crime and collision scenes, increasing transparency and promoting accountability. Nonetheless, safely operating manual drones in dense urban environments with tall buildings and changing terrains can be a tall order for even the most skilled pilots.

Deepu John, retired Detective in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and responsible for developing the departments’ drone program, recently joined Skydio as a Public Safety Solutions Engineer. He will share his experience while scaling the program to over 30 pilots, and his perspective on the benefits that Skydio and autonomy are bringing to first responders, such as safer navigation, reductions in training burden, technology synergies from the Skydio / Axon strategic partnership, and Skydio’s commitment to responsible use of drone technology through our partnership with DRONERESPONDERS and the Five Cs.

Additionally, Skydio recently released its second Original Series called “Autonomous Drones for First Responders”. Join the webinar to watch Skydio drones in action, assisting first responders across multiple simulated missions, and witness first hand how public safety operations are enhanced by the use of the smartest drones on the planet.