The security challenges facing industrial companies are many, and up until recent years the solutions have been good but incomplete. Incomplete security solutions in industrial environments, of course, can lead to serious consequences including significant monetary losses, equipment malfunction and production slowdown, and even threats to human lives.
Thankfully, however, there is an influx of revolutionary technology making its way into industries all over the world, and at the crossroads of two of those technologies – namely automation and drones – lies automated drone surveillance.
The following 5 benefits are what make it such a game-changing industrial security solution:
#1: Routine, on-demand and emergency response
Automated drones fly themselves, all the way from launching and landing and including data capture and transmission, and require no pilot or operator whatsoever. This means they’re available for routine surveillance missions, and they’re also able to launch at a moment’s notice for on-demand or emergency response missions – no wasted time waiting for a pilot to arrive. Leading automated drones are also capable of changing their own batteries and equipping themselves with sensors, so they’re always prepared for the surveillance tasks they need to complete. In industrial facilities, every second counts when it comes to surveillance and security issues, and automated drones don’t waste a second.
#2: No blind spots
CCTV systems have long been the gold standard for industrial surveillance, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. However, they aren’t without pitfalls, and one is that these stationary cameras are susceptible to blind spots caused by objects below and by the natural limitations of their fields of view.
Automated industrial drones are the ideal complement to CCTV systems because of their dynamic nature. They can fit into tight spaces, under or around impeding objects, and provide unlimited aerial awareness from any angle, either as part of regularly scheduled surveillance rounds, in an on-demand capacity or in response to an emergency.
#3: Thermal imaging
Unfortunately for the security industry, intruders tend to not strike in broad daylight or keep their prowling to well-lit areas. For automated industrial drones, this isn’t a problem. Leading automated industrial drones can equip themselves with thermal imaging sensors that require no illumination whatsoever, provide consistent imaging in day or night, can see through smoke or fog, and can detect threats at long range. Bonus: leading automated industrial drones that are capable of changing their own sensors can easily switch from live video surveillance to thermal imaging surveillance when the conditions require it.
#4: Intruder tracking
Once a suspected intruder is detected, it’s all too easy for an automated industrial drone to track that individual to provide real-time video of his or her movements as well as any possible weaponry. Not only does this prevent security personnel from entering a suspicious situation without full awareness (see below for more) but it also helps inform decisions on moving employees out of potentially dangerous areas, shutting down equipment, sending additional security to protect nearby assets, and blocking possible exit routes. This is the kind of information that can only be provided by a dynamic security solution with the ability to launch automatically during an emergency.
#5: Protection of security personnel
It isn’t pleasant to think about, but with the theft, vandalism, sabotage, espionage, terrorism and other risks facing industrial facilities, security personnel are potentially putting themselves in harm’s way every time they come to work to protect their company. In order to best protect these valuable employees, they need to be provided with as much information and awareness as possible. That’s one of the main things an automated industrial drone can do when it comes to surveillance.
Whether it’s having the drone complete regular surveillance rounds so security personnel aren’t entering remote, low-lit or dangerous areas by themselves, sending the drone in first during an emergency or potential security incident, or detecting intruders as quickly as possible and tracking their movements, these automated industrial drones are built to do the jobs that could otherwise put employees in danger. If this was the only benefit of automated industrial drones for surveillance, then they would still very much be a worthwhile investment. Fortunately, however, they have plenty of others as well.
