Motorola Solutions has announced it has invested in Brinc and SkySafe, forming strategic alliances to integrate Drone as First Responder (DFR) and counter drone technologies into its 911 command center solution, CommandCentral, and expand the companies’ go-to-market opportunities.

With more than 60% of North America’s public safety answering points (PSAP) already relying on Motorola Solutions’ 911 command center software, this collective U.S.-made offering enables public safety agencies to seamlessly introduce drones to help protect the public’s safety and security, Motorola says.

"With over 240 million 911 calls made each year, a faster response time to the call can be the consequential difference in an emergency,” said Mahesh Saptharishi, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Motorola Solutions. “We’re integrating the powerful capabilities of drones into 911 software, enabling precious time saved to deliver that life-saving medicine or give officers eyes and ears on scene before they arrive.”

Brinc allows 911 call handlers to immediately dispatch drones in response to emergency calls or with the push of a button from a Motorola Solutions APX NEXT smart radio. According to the company, some 911 calls can be cleared solely with drones, which Motorola Solutions expects to augment with “Assist for 911,” its AI application that can automate incident analysis and help determine when a DFR-based response is appropriate.

“Of equal importance to the public’s safety is managing the growing threat of unauthorized drones,” Saptharishi said. “Greater security for our airspace is an imperative to safeguard our critical infrastructure, borders and communities. This alliance also brings drone detection to the screens of 911 and command center operators across the nation.”

SkySafe can track and identify a drone, its operator’s location and real-time flight path and historical data. With SkySafe’s cloud-based SaaS platform, customers can have a reliable airspace security solution that requires no hardware or infrastructure investment. The company predicts the number of consumer drones in the U.S. can rise into the millions, highlighting the scale of risk that unauthorized drones potentially pose.

The new streams of drone intelligence enabled through these integrations can be streamed live into the command center and shared with officers in the field on in-vehicle computers or mobile devices. It can further be stored in agencies’ evidence management systems as part of Motorola Solutions’ ecosystem of safety and security technologies. Agencies can combine other incident data, such as 911 call records, officers’ radio dialogue, officers’ location information and more, for comprehensive analysis and evidence, including AI-based redaction to protect privacy.

“Drones are often first on the scene, providing the initial set of eyes on an emergency and equipping first responders to arrive better prepared,” said Blake Resnick, founder and CEO of Brinc. “We’re proud of our work with Motorola Solutions to help make drones an attainable reality for public safety agencies, helping to safeguard human life.”

“Unauthorized drones at major events and airports can cause immediate, harmful effects on people and operations,” said Grant Jordan, CEO of SkySafe. “We share Motorola Solutions’ vision to empower PSAPs to detect and protect against the increasing threats from malicious drones.”