Dubai: Drones will be used in Dubai for the first time to send live videos of fire incidents to emergency services, officials revealed during the Intersec safety and security show in Dubai on Sunday.
The “quad-copters” will be sent ahead of first-responders to fire incidents to cover all angles of the blaze to help Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) teams in dousing operations.
The flying machines can beam live feeds to handheld receivers with fire crews and to the main operations control room.
Visitors to Intersec on Sunday were taking mobile phone pictures of a demo version in flight at the Civil Defence stand. The three-day event is taking place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The expo was inaugurated by Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The smaller versions of the copters can be remote controlled within a range of 300 metres. Using four sets of helicopter-like blades, the devices can stay airborne for 25 minutes.
However, the larger versions, with a flight time of 45 minutes, can be programmed to zip to a set location using GPS coordinates on Google Earth.
“We’re now starting this system for Dubai Civil Defence. I understand other emirates can also request the machines to be sent over in the future,” said Second Lieutenant Ali Ghalaita from DCD.
The department has also introduced a motorbike that can transport the smaller drones to the incident location.
Also on show till Tuesday is the WV-ASF900 face recognition system by Panasonic that can process 1,000 faces per second — for up to 20 cameras at a time — to match pictures in a database.
Law enforcement agents can use it to match one person out of five million faces in only three seconds.
Meanwhile, 3M is showcasing its new protective eyewear and gloves range to its current portfolio of Personal Protective Equipment.
It is also displaying the 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid that does not damage sensitive electronics or delicate documents. The non-toxic clear liquid leaves no residue, making it useable directly on data processing units, control rooms operations, archives and museums, while the systems remain operational.
Although it is a liquid at room temperature it “gasifies” immediately after being discharged.
The annual show’s 16th edition is seeing the participation of 1,210 companies from 54 countries.
Show organiser Epoc Messe Frankfurt said demand for safety and security systems is growing in the UAE and region, with a 22 per cent surge in Intersec exhibitors this year.
