Tijuana authorities plan to buy quadcopters from 3D Robotics to help in city surveillance tasks

According to a story published on UT San Diego, authorities in Tijuana, Mexico, are planning to buy several drones/multirotors from 3D Robotics  to “monitor traffic, evaluate accident scenes, detect landslides and control wildfires”.

The IRIS quadcopter from 3D Robotics
The IRIS quadcopter from 3D Robotics

“The main idea is that they help with surveillance of the city,” Major Jorge Astiazarán said in an interview. “This won’t just be used for public safety, but to see how the city is growing, discover clandestine dumps … monitor any land movement in a remote area that has gone undetected.”

The Y8 quadcopter from 3D Robotics, that comes with 8 motors, 2 on each arm
The Y8 quadcopter from 3D Robotics, that comes with 8 motors, 2 on each arm

The choice of 3D Robotics as source of multirotors in Tijuana probably comes natural, as 3D Robotics has a manufacturing plant in Tijuana, which makes all the expertise and know how easily available locally.

A technician checks a printed circuit board in the 3DR manufacturing plant in Tijuana - Source
A technician checks a printed circuit board in the 3DR manufacturing plant in Tijuana – Source and more images

3DR products run on open source flight controllers with extended autonomous flight capabilities, which make them particularly suitable for semi-automated or fully automated tasks such as photographic mapping or surveillance.

The latest flight controller from 3DR, Pixhawk
The latest flight controller from 3DR, Pixhawk

3DR flight controllers and multirotors are in continuous evolution thanks to Chris Anderson and the active community at DIYDrones.

Further reading

Original story at UT San Diego

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