A few weeks ago, I got a chance to tour the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center (PSTC) while it was nearing completion. It is a massive facility with reality-based training stations for nearly every possible scenario - natural disasters, fires, barricaded subjects, train derailments, burglaries, high-speed vehicle pursuits, with even more planned, like swift water rescues. The first responders of Atlanta - police, fire, EMS, E-911 - will be able to take advantage of state-of-the-art training environments and technology to help them develop and maintain the skills required to serve their community in the safest possible way. That starts now, with today’s opening of the Atlanta PSTC.
“The Public Safety Training Center reflects a shared goal, making our community safer while standing firmly behind those who are there to protect.” - Georgia Governor Brian Kemp
Drone as First Responder technology is rapidly being adopted by public safety agencies across the country. And training is critical to its success – not only in how to fly a drone, but how to effectively execute a mission in a myriad of different environments where seconds can truly mean the difference between life and death.
How to quickly find lost persons in search and rescue. How to fly through open doors, under overpasses, and through parking garages. How to navigate around obstacles. How to use thermal imagery to effectively identify hot spots through the smoke of a house fire. How to communicate with responding personnel while maintaining control of the aircraft. All of these skills - and more - are vital to hugely successful DFR programs.
That’s why I’m so excited to announce that Skydio has partnered with the Atlanta Police Foundation to bring a fully operational DFR system to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. We’ll have a hive of three Docks with fully-loaded X10s featuring different sensor packages for different missions, running DFR Command, fully integrated into Axon Fusus and other systems.
Any first responder from Atlanta’s public safety agencies can use these systems at any time to execute drone operations across any of the stations within the training center.
“It’s a transformation in how we collaborate and how we serve.” - Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief, Roderick M. Smith
Skydio also welcomes current and prospective customers, including those outside of public safety, from across the Southeast and the country to join us to experience DFR in a hands-on environment. We will soon announce dates for onsite training and demonstration sessions.
Unable to make it to Atlanta? Later this summer, the DFR Center of Excellence will be available for remote flight using DFR Command or Skydio Remote Ops. Launch an X10 from one of the onsite Docks using just a browser, from anywhere in the world.
“A generational need in our city’s infrastructure has been met.” - Atlanta Police Department Chief, Darin Schierbaum
A little more about the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center:
The City of Atlanta has built a new public safety training center to support its need for dedicated training space with modern facilities for personnel. The new center allows sworn officers, civilian responders, firefighters, EMS, and E-911 staff to train locally and collaboratively, using modern philosophies and methodologies rooted in harm reduction. The center is located in the South River region of Dekalb County, on 85 acres of land owned by the City of Atlanta. Find out more at www.atltrainingcenter.com.
