ideaForge day and night surveillance drones are used in 10+ states in India for constant vigilance and social distancing enforcement during the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown. These day and night surveillance drones have become an integral factor in India’s Covid-19 fightback.

During the lockdown, there were many cases where people gathered and moved around at night to avoid police confrontation. There were even increased reports of theft and unlawful activities at night. The police and authorities had their hands full managing the day time social distancing. They found it tough to enforce round-the-clock surveillance.

Beyond the day and night surveillance challenge, the authorities faced 3 primary operational constraints:

• Strict social distancing and lockdown enforcement
• Resource crunch and safety of front-line personnel
• Structured containment of hotspots and buffer areas

Drones – the ideal day and night surveillance solution

ideaForge day and night surveillance drones have been consistently and repeatedly helping local authorities in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Guwahati, Sangli, Solan, etc.

Live 24-hour day and night surveillance

Problem statement

• If people ignore social distancing norms in markets and on the streets, there could be the second wave in the coronavirus positive cases.
• People, during a long lockdown, might lay down their guard and take the social distancing norms lightly. This could put more people at risk.
• Markets, medical stores and other congregation points are essential for goods exchange. They are also prone to random social distancing violations.
• People, especially in containment zones, were gathering on rooftops and narrow lanes away from the prying eyes of the authorities.
• People may gather within containment zones or the streets during the night to avoid police interactions.

Drone solution

• Day-time surveillance:

o   ideaForge’s high endurance drones are capable of long uninterrupted flights over large districts.

o   Drones can immediately spot social distancing violations in markets and engage with people on the spot. This helps keep the operations running with minimal cluster spread risk.

o   Drones helped spot social distancing and lockdown violations, even on rooftops and narrow street lanes.

• Night-time surveillance:

o   ideaForge drones are equipped with thermal imaging capability. This means that they are equally effective during day and night.

o   Multiple government authorities, like Delhi Police, have used ideaForge drones to augment their night-time surveillance.

o   These drones easily spot people or vehicles moving or gathering, with clear and precise thermal imaging.

• The drones can spot and mark moving objects, to report and follow them.

Law and order upkeep and enforcement

Problem statement

• There were multiple cases of theft reported during the lockdown period.
• The police and authorities were hard-pressed to allay citizens and shop owners concerns of increased criminal activities.

Drone solution

• Police utilized beat patrolling drones to set-up an automated surveillance system, day or night.
• The operator could easily set waypoints for the drone. The drone would simply follow the charted-out path carefully scouting streets and lanes, especially at night.
• The drones were helpful in the immediate detection of any suspicious activity as it happened. The live feedback to the ground control station instigated quick on-ground intervention.
• As mentioned above, drones could mark and follow moving objects. This meant that the police could track down culprits and book them.

Drone-led lockdown documentation and authentication

Problem statement:

• The central and state governments require careful control and assessment of existing hotspots.
• They also require expert containment of zones so that they don’t become clusters.
• The local authorities need strong tech-support to centralize and share intelligence across wards and districts.
• They need documented coverage of lockdown enforcement and civil discipline. This would help structure future decision making and strategy.

Drone solution

• All drone surveillance could be encrypted and shared with the proper authorities for careful assessment and intel gathering.
• The day and night surveillance was recorded and documented for historical analytics – for future learning and improved pandemic response.

Quick drone impact report card with day and night surveillance

ideaForge day and night surveillance drones have helped improve the government’s and authorities’ lockdown management and coronavirus response. The high resolution and high endurance 24-hour drone surveillance has reduced the strain on the front-line officers. These drones have become resource multipliers while, concurrently, putting the forces out of direct harms’ way (with Covid-19 infections).

These are some of the metrics which showcase the impact of these drones.

• Total area under surveillance increased – 16x
• Total surveillance frequency increased – 3x
• On-ground response time decreased – 50%

Day and night drone surveillance goes a long way in safeguarding the health of our frontline officers. It helps amplify their work. Eventually, this would help build upon the resilience and strength within our collective coronavirus fightback.