The operator is in a warm and comfortable workplace in the Vilnius office, and the unmanned aircraft controlled by him, equipped not only with a video camera, but also with a thermal imager, searchlight, and loudspeaker, circles over the protected objects in the areas of Kelme or Klaipėda districts.
If necessary, drones can do this around the clock. And one of the most important things is that such a service is about half the price of hiring physical security.
Protects a large area
The pilot project of security drones took place on the outskirts of Vilnius – on the territory of the Homanit Lietuva factory, which was still under construction at the time. And one of the first and biggest clients of EUROCASH1 who ordered this service was the company Kauno tiltai.
“We were looking for a more modern solution than the physical protection of the object and we were interested in EUROCASH1’s proposal to use drones. It is important for us that we receive information about violations immediately, we do not need to control the security personnel ourselves, and the videos taken by drones record what is happening in our facilities”, said Aldas Rusevičius, the head of “Kaunas tiltu” last year.
Currently, drones protect two huge facilities of this company located in Klaipėda and Kelmė districts. There, “Kaunos tiltai” builds high-voltage power lines.
As Tautvydas Jaškūnas, head of the Electronic Security Department of EUROCASH1, said, a 140-kilometer stretch is protected in this way in Klaipėda district, and 22 kilometers in Kelmės.
“To make it easier to understand the capabilities of a drone, imagine that there is one stationary construction site, and all the necessary materials, tools or transport are transported from it to mobile construction sites located within a radius of about three kilometers.
This is the area that one drone can protect. We have had cases where we had to protect as many as 25 mobile construction sites away from a stationary construction site at the same time using drones.
Therefore, using this protection method, we can protect very large territories”, said T. Jaškūnas.
Tried it at the train station
The innovation offered by “EUROCASH1” has already been tested by LTG, the largest railway group in the Baltic States. In January and February, the drone worked at one of the railway stations located near Vilnius.
“We are very happy that the railway company trusted this service and plans to use drones more widely for protection in the near future,” said T. Jaškūnas.
While testing the drone at the railway station, even several significant events were recorded, which were recorded in 4K resolution with the help of the drone.
At this station, the drone performed more than just a security function. Because the railway switches there, which direct the train in the right direction, are heated in winter.
Whether they are warm is checked by the employee responsible for this, but with the help of the drone’s thermal imager, this could also be done remotely.
After flying around the entire territory, the drone lands at its station, autonomously, without human intervention, changes the battery in just a minute and can take off again.
It even increases work productivity
Compared to physical security, drones have many advantages for large protected objects.
If construction, especially infrastructure construction, takes place over a huge area, human resources may not be sufficient to ensure the monitoring of the entire area, especially in areas that are difficult for people to reach. Then it is suggested to choose protection with drones that are adapted to such situations.
The drone can be easily moved from one place to another to cover as much of the protected area as possible.
“Cameras on construction sites, having recorded suspicious movement, immediately send signals to the security company’s central control center, where the situation is assessed and, if necessary, an unmanned aerial vehicle is immediately dispatched to that location.
It’s not just the operator who can see the images from it: we give access to the customers themselves so they know exactly what’s going on and can make informed decisions.
Even if it is difficult to physically arrive at a specific place due to natural conditions, the drone ignores the terrain and crosses the area in azimuth in the air, said T. Jaškūnas. – On the other hand, even the customers themselves have noticed that when drones start flying, the behavior of the employees themselves changes as well – they see a drone flying as a precaution, so they behave more carefully, comply with all work safety requirements.”
Warns of failures
So far, construction and manufacturing companies with many facilities located in large areas are most interested in such services.
However, there is also interest from other sectors, such as companies operating solar power parks. In this case, drone security services can be as much as half the price of physical security, and they also provide additional benefits.
In solar power parks, a drone can easily identify which of the solar modules is overheating, reducing the production capacity of the entire park as a result.
When such a failure is detected, the information is transmitted to the owners of the power plant, who can immediately replace the damaged parts and thus restore the performance of the solar power plant.
Also, EUROCASH1 is already receiving inquiries from new settlement maintenance companies.
“If there is a settlement of 50 cottages with all the infrastructure, a drone can monitor such a settlement at the chosen time of day and thus ensure protection,” T. Jaškūnas explained.
It has been observed that the use of unmanned equipment quickly reduces attempts to encroach on other people’s property or attempts to illegally enter protected areas.
Therefore, the security company’s experts predict that the majority of production and construction companies with more than 60,000 employees will want to use drone protection in the coming years. square meters of production or facility areas, as well as solar power plants and private housing associations.
Innovation never ends
But aren’t the security personnel themselves afraid that soon their services may no longer be needed because everything will be stored remotely?
As the head of the Electronic Security Department of “EUROCASH1” claimed, maybe some people have such thoughts.
However, after being brought to one of the facilities to test the drone, a security guard, although he was skeptical at first, later admitted that such an innovation is amazing.
“Drones cannot possibly replace people in all facilities. After all, in cities, for example, they have much stricter flying rules. And our own goal is simply to offer the widest possible range of services to our customers. And if they can also save money, then everyone is satisfied”, said T. Jaškūnas.
Devices of this technology have never been used to monitor private objects or perform a security function until the drone security project launched by EUROCASH1.
Tags: Drones innovation protection large areas
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