Chennai: City Police looking to set up a special drone unit has agreed to purchase nine drones at a cost of Rs.3.6 crore. They started a trial run of drones to select the best-selling vendor.
A total of nine drones – six quick response drones, two long-range surveillance drones, and a lifeguard drone – will be purchased at a cost of Rs.3 crore per unit, and Rs.60 lakh will be spent on the office, the drone was flown at Elliott Beach, police officials said.
On Thursday, a trial was held for a lifeguard drone with a high lifespan and heavy lifting capability with a flying range of 15 km continuous drones, a gross weight of 12 kg, and a flying range of 1 km.
The unit consists of two parts – a drone and a well-equipped container office with an elevated platform with a drone takeoff and landing pad and glass walls on all sides, automatic roof, landscaping systems, etc. The control unit was temporarily constructed by making a shipping container.
“We are in the process of finalizing the seller. Police said they will select them after two or three trials. Already, the Anti-Drowning Unit is closely monitoring the incidents of drowning at Elliot’s Beach,” said South Joint Commissioner Mr. KS Narenthiran Nair.
The quick-response special payload drone features multi-rotor interchangeable payloads and an HD camera with thermal/night vision. It is capable of live streaming video and also has a 100-gram loudspeaker for public advertising. The 2.5 kg drone has a continuous flying range of 2 km and a continuous drone flying time of 30 minutes.
Long-range reconnaissance drone Hybrid drone (quadcopter and wing plane) for vertical takeoff and landing. It will have a continuous flight time of 100 minutes, a gross weight of 5 kg, and a continuous flying range of 30 km, said South Joint Commissioner Mr. KS Narenthiran Nair.
Our Citizen Reporter,
Venkata T Reddy
