Police at the University of Montana’s Washington Grizzly Stadium had access to a persistent aerial view of the stadium and surrounding area which was streamed directly from Elistair's tethered drone Orion. With its dual sensor payload, combined with the 24h flight endurance of the Orion 2 meant that the system could carry out an uninterrupted, day into night mission without the need to land.
Deployed by CloudCover on the roof of a building in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, the drone provided the command post with a permanent view of the stadium grounds, both entry and exit points, as well as sales areas, car parks and hiking trails on the mountains surrounding the University of Montana campus.
Brad Giffin, University of Montana, Chief of Police: “By using CloudCover services flying Elistair tethered drones, I was able to gain a significant advantage in keeping people safe at a large event. The imagery provided by CloudCover enabled a huge increase in my situational awareness, the ability to witness events first-hand as an Incident Commander, and to provide assistance to my officers if needed without having to rely simply on radio voice communications.”
Finally, once the concert was over, the Orion 2, equipped with its infrared camera, not only ensured the smooth exit of fans and employees, but also located groups of people hiding in the stadium in order to evacuate them.
During the 6-hour operation, the Orion 2 provided crucial support to the emergency services, who were able to rely on the drone’s continuous flight time to maintain an overwatch of the area and to ensure effective coordination.
Richard Simpson, Cloud Cover Co-Founder, Mission Commander: “Elistair’s tethered products provide an incredible capability for event security staff by providing the endurance for the duration of an event with the aerial perspective of the entire event area.”
Source: Elistair