Bruce McPherson

Image :  Easy Aerial

Easy Aerial is a small company with a big list of customers that include the U.S. AirForce, the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol, and more – all performing applications that the company can’t discuss.  But this week, Easy Aerial drones are helping to provide security for one of the biggest parties in the U.S.: Miami’s SuperFest.

The Miami-Gardens Police Department will use the fully autonomous, drone-in-the-box solutions to help them secure the 5 day celebration leading up to this weekend’s Super Bowl.  SuperFest brings almost 600,000 people into an area that is normally a vast parking lot – an area without much permanent security infrastructure.  Even for the Miami-Gardens P.D., who are used to parties, that creates a security challenge; but it’s one that Easy Aerial’s autonomous and tethered drone systems can help manage.

NY-based Easy Aerial designs and manufactures fully autonomous systems.   In 2018, the company won a U.S. AirForce challenge for new technology to protect U.S. soldiers – and their drone-in-the-box systems, which can be driven in an F-150 pick up truck, were developed initially to AirForce and government specifications.

Miami-Gardens P.D. will use two drones – one that will launch and fly on a scheduled system for perimeter security.  The second is the same box, with the same drone – but attached to a cable, which provides communications and power.  “The tethered system can fly for 16 – 18 hours straight: no radios, cyber immune,” says Ido Gur, Easy Aerial’s co-founder and CEO.  The drone is incredibly easy to use, requiring no piloting skills, and is designed to respond instantly when launched: “In 5 seconds, the box opens – and in 20 seconds it reaches max altitude, in this case 200 feet,” says Gur.

Officers can drive the F-150 pickup while the drone, which is equipped with a high resolution zoom camera, is in the air; giving them a birds’ eye view of the celebrations and enabling the team to monitor crowds and respond quickly to any problems. “This is the tool they need for this event,”says Gur. “We’re very proud of this – it’s a high profile event.   I truly believe that a birds-eye view at 200 feet is something that can save lives – it can really make the police much more efficient in times of crisis.”

After SuperFest is over?  There’s the potential that the drones can be used for many other events, or to help in case of hurricanes or other disaster events.  “This is a tool for mass events and for crises – one of the benefits of our drone is that it flies in extreme winds,” says Gur.  Easy Aerial drones can carry more than just cameras, also.  “We just did a project with DHS where the payload was not a camera, but a special radio that provides internet for a one-mile radius,” says Gur. “That’s a huge benefit in a crisis.  We’ve done payloads with loud speakers, searchlights – it’s a very versatile payload capability.”

With lots of potential for the future,  this week, the Miami-Gardens P.D. will be using Easy Aerial Drones to help 600,000 partiers celebrate safely – that’s a win regardless of Sunday’s result.