Under plans that will be submitted to Government, vulnerable women could be shielded from predators with high-tech drones.
AeroGuard drones will use AI technology to detect and scare away potential attackers. They also have a strong spotlight and thermal camera.
Sunday Telegraph reported that women in fear would be able summon drones using an app. They would arrive within four hours.
A team made up of ex-police officers and Civil Aviation Authority specialists has designed the design. It will be submitted to Government as part its Innovate funding programme.
Drone Defence, the company behind the technology, said the drones, which will cost £35,000, will be trialled at Nottingham University to protect students and staff on campus.
According to the company, it is currently preparing to submit plans to the Home Office. The solution will be cheaper than police helicopters, and would perform 80 percent of the same tasks.
One drone company has plans to present to the government the design of a drone that would protect women in night walking (file photo).
A promotional video about the technology states that half of the women and seven percent of men are afraid to walk alone in quiet streets near their homes at night.
Voiceover: “To address antisocial behaviour and sexual violence on the streets, we’re looking to create an automated response capability with drones.
“These drones could possibly be mounted to the roof of a station police department and used by mobile phones to call for help in an emergency.
“We can safely deploy a drone equipped with thermal cameras over vulnerable persons within minutes of being called.
“This drone would flood light and capture the scene. The footage will be streamed to a control area and used as deterrent against an opportunistic attacker.
This statement adds that technology of this nature has yet to be deployed anywhere in the world and that regulatory obstacles remain.
The firm says drones could be used tackle antisocial behaviour, sexual and violent crimes by allowing users to raise an alert via an phone app which would trigger an emergency response
Drone Defence stated that a drone can be deployed in minutes after receiving an alert.
Richard Gill, founder of the company, stated that drones may eventually replace police helicopters for up to 80 percent of their functions.
Former army intelligence officer Mr Gill told the Telegraph: ‘We aim to get a prototype off the ground in Nottingham for £500,000.
‘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 perform high-speed pursuits, but can complete other tasks like searching for people or ground surveillance.
“It will take around a year for it to be put together as proof of concept drones can support people at fractions of the cost. It takes tens rather than hundreds of minutes.
A drone with artificial intelligence, capable of tracking the signal to the mobile phone from up to 200 feet in the air, will also come equipped.
Drone Defence believes that their idea and design is more effective and economical than using police helicopters (file photo).
A qualified pilot will oversee the flight from a control center and be ready to step in if required.
After widespread outcry about the murder, kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard in the hands of Wayne Couzens (then serving police officer), the team devised the plan.
Couzens kidnapped Ms Everard while she was walking home from Clapham (south London) on March 3.
As she was walking home from work, the killer made a fake arrest using Covid powers. Then, he committed horrific crimes that shocked the country and undermined the confidence of police officers.
His warrant card, handcuffs and other means of committing the crime were used by the 48-year old to target Ms. Everard.
He was handed a whole-life prison sentence in September and is currently behind bars at at Frankland prison in County Durham.
The UK’s police forces have begun to employ drones for various operations, including the search and identification of missing persons and cannabis factories.
Drone Defence founder Richard Gill said that the idea was born out of the protests over Sarah Everard’s kidnapping and murder (pictured by Wayne Couzens, south London).
Three drones were purchased by the Cambridge Police in 2020. They have been used to help with approximately 225 incidents over a 12-month period.
The Norfolk Police stated in October they were planning to increase their drone fleet, having used them for over 1,500 incidents this year.
The drones could also be used to capture burglars and fly above firearms incidents.
The Metropolitan Police in London has been using drones ever since 2017 when a pilot was started.
Drones are used for surveillance of crime scenes. They provide aerial support to pre-planned operations and survey premises.
According to Mr Gill, drones may prove more effective than police helicopters in reaching targets within four minutes as opposed to the 20-minutes it takes for a helicopter to reach them.
The Telegraph reported that London has on average eight hours per day a police helicopter.
“For about the same cost as the current helicopter price, 25 drones could be yours for 250 hours of flying per day. Five base locations would be required.