Texas police department to introduce autonomous drone pilot program: 'An eye in the sky'

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Texas police department to introduce drones as first response to emergency calls

The Bee Cave Police Department announced on Friday they would introduce the new AV8 autonomous drone pilot program to help respond to 911 calls. Credit: KVUE

A police department in Texas may soon be using drones to respond to emergency calls, according to Police Chief Brian Jones.

The Bee Cave Police Department offered a demonstration of their autonomous drone system on Friday morning, known as "AV8."

The demonstration was part of a pilot project to test the AV8, which also consists of a computer system to keep drones on-target. Both are built by eve Vehicles, which is a start-up 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 at the location," said Bee Cave Chief of Police Brian Jones to FOX 7 Austin.

"We've gone through several generations," said eve Vehicles co-founder and CEO Roger Pecina to FOX 7 Austin. "We've been working on this specific concept for about two years."

Batteries for the drones, which are stored onboard, offer around 40 minutes' flight time.

The autonomous AV8 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'll actually call another drone in the network. They'll come and replace it," said Pecina to FOX 7 Austin. "And then this one goes to the closest nest to recharge its battery."

Routes for the drones are pre-programmed along local roads and highways to reach dispatch locations for emergency calls in the pilot program.

"So, the idea is that once they have the address, they do plug it into AV8 that does all of the calculation to see which drone is close to that call and autonomously leaves, and it goes to the scene without a pilot. It arrives when it's on scene that's when the pilot takes control and can move the drone around to get like better views of exactly what's being developed," said Pecina to FOX 7 Austin.

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From there, video is transmitted directly from the drone back to dispatch, where feed is sent to Bee Cave Police patrol cars and smartphones in real-time.

The AV8 system's first deployment may take place as soon as next week on limited emergency calls in Bee Cave, which is a suburb of Austin. However, the entire system is not expected to deploy 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 before last Wednesday's mass shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School.

"Say, for instance, the example that you use the school shooter in Georgia, heaven forbid, something like that, were to happen here," said Police Chief Brian Jones to FOX 7 Austin. "And we had the capabilities, this drone technology capability, we would have that information before the officers even arrive at the scene, so we can better prepare to engage a suspect."

"We could possibly know their location before the officers arrive, and we could better respond to that situation and possibly save lives," said Chief Jones to 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.