The UK's latest solution to violence towards women? Drones. Photo / 123RF
The UK's latest solution to violence towards women? Drones. Photo / 123RF
Vulnerable women walking home at night in Britain could be protected from stalkers and sex attackers by drones under plans to be submitted to the UK government.
Women in fear of an attack will be able to use a phone app to summon a drone, which could arrive within minutes armed with a powerful spotlight and thermal cameras to frighten off any potential assailant.
The drone system will be initially trialled on a university campus to protect students and staff, but its inventors believe unmanned drones could ultimately take over many of the search and surveillance functions of police helicopters at a fraction of the cost.
The plan, put together by a team of former police officers and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) experts, is to be submitted for funding to the government's Innovate research programme, which is designed to promote cutting-edge technology.
Drones may be able to help vulnerable women. Photo / Aero Guard
Richard Gill, founder of Drone Defence, which has developed the drone technology, said the trial at Nottingham University aimed to demonstrate whether drones could offer a cheaper, less noisy and more environmentally friendly service to protect the public than police helicopters.
The plan came to fruition in the wake of the outcry over violence against women that followed the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens.
Sarah Everard was murdered by a police officer. Photo / Supplied
Anyone fearing an attack could summon one of the £35,000 ($69,200) Aeroguard drones via an app to arrive within four minutes. Using AI, it will automatically track the phone signal flying at 200ft monitored from a control room by a qualified pilot ready to take over if needed.
On arrival, it would shine the spotlight on the potential attacker to scare them off as well as filming them for any future prosecution. "We aim to get a prototype off the ground in Nottingham for £500,000," said Gill, a former army intelligence officer.
"It is a high-capability drone that costs just £100 an hour but can do 80 per cent of what a police helicopter can do. It cannot do high-speed pursuits but it can do the other tasks such as searching for people and ground surveillance.
"It will take about a year to put together as a proof of concept that drones can provide support for people at a fraction of the cost and in minutes rather than tens of minutes."
How the drones would work. Photo / Aero Guard
It costs police forces up to £3200 ($6329) an hour to deploy one of the 19 helicopters from the National Police Air Service (NPAS) with its crew of up to five. It has similar surveillance cameras as a drone, but it is noisier and uses aviation fuel rather than electricity.
A police helicopter has the edge on speed, at 180mph versus a drone's maximum of 50mph, and the capacity to remain airborne at two hours, versus a drone's 55 minutes.
But the developers of the drone technology claim it could reach its location within four minutes compared with 20 minutes to deploy a police helicopter.
"London on average has a police helicopter above it for eight hours a day. For the same price as they currently pay for the helicopter, you could have 25 drones offering 250 flying hours per day. This would need five base locations across the city," said Gill.
Trials have already started of long-range drones to replace police helicopters in the pursuit of suspects and searches for missing people.
NPAS, which flies helicopters for the 43 forces in England and Wales, has tested an Israeli-built military drone that was first used in the 2014 Gaza war to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance against Hamas terrorists.
A technical report has been prepared for Home Office ministers to determine if the drone could be recruited to the police "air force" because of its superior aerial capabilities, namely the time it can stay aloft and heights it can reach to silently spy on locations and search for suspects.
"We believe that drone technology is now ready for this type of deployment and the UK regulator, the CAA, has the regulatory frame-work in place to approve it," said Gill, whose company already provides drone detection technology to prisons, airports and wealthy individuals.
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7: • Call 0800 044 334 • Text 4334 • Email support@safetotalk.nz • For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.
