Ensenada’s experience with CAPE’s crusaders in the sky
As we reported last year, the City of Ensenada had enhanced its police protection with the collaboration of a state-of-the-art technology company based in Redwood City, California.
This collaboration, which utilized the services of a network of drones, was initiated by Mayor Marco Novelo on a trial basis to determine how much the company’s assistance could improve public safety in regards to crisis management and crime prevention.
The result was a significant reduction in crime since the inception of the program in October of 2017, as reported by Mayor Novelo as late as June 2018.
The Mayor reported that as of that time, 513 arrests had been made as a result of patrols, and that management of crisis situations were greatly enhanced by drone surveillance. By the time the program ended, over 1,000 arrests had been made as a result of drone intervention and guidance!
That Bay Area company is called Cape, which provided Ensenada with a network of drones that gave emergency services here unprecedented and incomparable coverage of the entirety of its large geographical area.
In order to appreciate the level of sophistication that Cape provided to the police and other emergency services, Gerardo Cervantes, Operations Manager at Cape, who also has an office locally, said that a drone could be deployed to within a 5km radius of a 911 call in less than three minutes!
Once the drone arrived at its assigned destination, its “eyes” on the situation provided critical information to the drone operator, revealing instantly what resources were necessary for adequate management of the emergency; for example, were fire trucks, ambulances or utility company’s services necessary, and, if so, what kind and how many of each? That information, rapidly communicated by dispatchers, could make the difference between life and death in critical situations.
Hector Elias is an Ensenada native who works with Cape locally. He explained that the drones are so sophisticated that they can operate independently of an operator, i.e., if for some reason the operator is disconnected from the unit (which so far has never happened in a practical application), it will automatically return “home” – its original launching point – and land itself safely!
Cape drones have shown that they are indispensable allies to the local police department. They are also valuable assets to the military, private industry, large agricultural concerns, and private security companies.
Hector demonstrated one of the most desirable traits of Cape drones: They can be controlled remotely from anywhere in the world. As he stood at his test site at Playa Hermosa, he pointed to a drone that was coming in for a landing; that drone was being piloted by a Cape operator in Redwood City!
In the U.S., Cape is currently partnering with the city of San Diego for the UAS Pilot Integration Program, providing Cape-enabled drones to assist in emergency response support, offering the incomparable crime fighting and crisis management services that only a highly sophisticated squadron of drones can provide.
According to Mr Cervantes, the FAA’s flight pattern restrictions in the United States offer challenges more restrictive than those in Mexico, such as “line of sight,” but he is certain that Cape will be able to offer solutions to any challenge posed by that federal agency, noting that the restriction could be lifted once the FAA is convinced that Cape’s drones can be operated remotely – and safely – from anywhere in the world.
As he says, with justifiable confidence, “There is no competition.”
