Emergency responders often have to work long hours under challenging conditions. To fulfill their tasks and ensure their own and others' safety, it is extremely important to maintain a good overview at all times. Drones can be a crucial aid in situational assessment. And when all hands are needed on deck, or there is no UAS pilot on-site, tethered UAS are a real ace up the sleeve. With the Sigma+, Fotokite has now introduced the next evolutionary step of its tethered drone.

With the aerial imaging system Sigma, the Swiss company Fotokite has made a name for itself among security agencies and rescue services worldwide. Whether as a mobile set with the dimensions of a large cooler or mounted on a vehicle with a permanent base station, the wired drone can be easily integrated into the equipment of police and fire units.

With the press of a button, the drone, which essentially consists of a lightweight carbon fiber frame, flies vertically upward to assist the command leaders in assessing the situation. The current version, Sigma, has undergone several optimizations that significantly expand its functionality. The latest camera generation from Fotokite features a radiometric thermal imaging camera, a wide-angle RGB camera, and a zoom RGB camera, all mounted on a three-axis gimbal. Depending on the requirements, users can choose between two thermal cameras; a 12-megapixel RGB camera and a live video stream in Full HD resolution are standard features. Speaking of video streaming, another improvement is the option to make both RGB and thermal recordings accessible in real time to other responders or even the control center via a Wi-Fi or LTE modem. An API interface also facilitates the integration of Fotokite’s aerial imaging system into existing workflows.

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