Triangle UAS LLC, a provider of innovative unmanned aircraft system services and technology, has launched a drone-mounted real-time video streaming system to enhance situational awareness during disaster/accident response, and search and rescue efforts. Unveiled recently at the 2019 Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo, held April 1–4 in Denver, the new streaming solution from North Carolina-based Triangle UAS, will offer first responders, public safety officials, and smart cities a cost-effective, easy-to-use method of providing real-time video streaming from an aerial drone to remote operators or an emergency operations center via a secure Internet connection.
The Triangle UAS streaming solution consists of a compact, lightweight device that connects directly to the controller of a video-enabled drone to quickly and seamlessly encode and transmit the video stream to the Internet via 4G or WiFi networks, enabling the video to be viewed in real time on multiple screens at emergency operations centers or by authorized third-party users via a secure Internet connection. In addition to the hardware device, there is a custom server software platform, and a mobile and web-based app that supports secure access for hundreds of viewers with customizable privileges and the ability to record all incoming streams from multiple video sources. The new streaming solution will also support video from conventional video cameras and smartphones.
“When developing this streaming solution, our goal was to create a user-friendly, cost-effective real time video streaming system that delivers superior performance compared to currently available solutions,” said Taylor Kerby, president and founder of Triangle UAS. “Previous drone video systems employed SD cards to store recorded video, which then had to be removed and delivered to the emergency operations center, causing delays.”
“Even most of the currently-available video streaming technologies are limited to distances of approximately a mile or so, and many of these systems still introduce an unacceptable latency, or delay, in the video signal, while our system delivers the video stream with a latency of 500mS or less,” Kerby explained. “Many of the existing systems do not offer secure access, and involve bulky hardware that comes with a high price tag.”
According to Kerby, the streaming solution is anticipated to be deployed in several application areas related to “smart city” technologies, including public safety, search and rescue, emergency management, disaster response, utility and infrastructure inspections, as well as for media outlets looking to stream video for live news.
