1 hr 33 min
Episode 013: The Evolution of Drones: Origins, Present, and What the Future Holds for Unmanned Aircraft Systems with Romeo Durscher and Christopher Todd DRONERESPONDERS
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- Non-Profit
Charles Werner, your host, welcomes Romeo Durscher and Christopher Todd to talk about the history of drones in public safety and emergency management, specially now that Romeo has decided to retire from his role at DJI after an amazing contribution to the field of drones. Charles, Chris, and Romeo talk thoughtfully about the opportunities, possibilities, and challenges in the implementation and use of unmanned aircraft systems for disaster response.
Chris Todd is the founder and president of Airborne Response, he also serves as the executive director of the Airborne International Response Team (AIRT®).
Romeo Durscher is the Former Senior Director of Public Safety Integration at DJI. He was born and raised in Switzerland, Romeo moved to San Jose, CA to work on a NASA space mission. After almost 13 years of working on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, doing project management, education and public outreach, and social media, Romeo spent 6 years at DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer. At DJI he built the Public Safety vertical and through his leadership and drive to bring new technologies to emergency services, he has become a leader in UAS integration, deployment, and future solution design.
Romeo was named one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Drone Industry by the Commercial UAV organization and one of 7 visionaries in Public Safety.
He is a published author and aerial photographer, known science outreach and educator, social media leader, and conference keynote speaker.
Key Takeaways:
[1:33] Romeo announces it was his last day at DJI.
[2:47] Romeo explains how he transitioned into public safety
[9:27] Romeo explains how he got the vision about the potential of drones back in 2011.
[10:20] Romeo shares how he left his work at NASA to dedicate his career to drones.
[13:24] Romeo talks about his first connection to the fire service public safety.
[17:53] Realizing there was a market for drones.
[18:56] Romeo talks about the first fire department in testing drones for public safety.
[23:21] More people became interested in drones as they became more popular and commercially publicized.
[25:45] Figuring out how drones can contribute to public safety responses.
[27:20] Search and rescue and drones
[30:59] Romeo talks about HAZMAT.
[34:04] When does a drone in a hazmat scenario become disposable?
[35:01] Romeo talks about the introduction to design changes.
[38:45] The matter of budget in public safety and how it impacts the market.
[41:11] Romeo explains why you should not start with a big aircraft.
[42:33] Batteries can be another challenge to public safety.
[44:45] There is no one drone that does it all.
[46:10] Romeo shares his biggest moments with DJI in the public safety arena.
[49:33] The emotional impact of attending a disaster is real.
[50:58] Romeo talks about the challenge of processing the data collected through drones.
[53:40] Romeo talks about drones reaching their peak of effectiveness.
[56:17] What is the next thing on the horizon for drones?
[1:01:10] Imagery is really important for damage assessment.
[1:01:33] Romeo shares his thoughts about the promise of artificial intelligence.
[1:04:09] Romeo talks about DJI’s strategies for the near future.
[1:05:39] Romeo shares a moment when he saw a drone saving a life
[1:07:05] The Lost Person Behavior App.
[1:11:15] Romeo talks about people’s reaction to him leaving DJI.
[1:13:27] Romeo was named one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Drone Industry by the Commercial UAV organization and one of 7 visionaries in Public Safety.
[1:17:38] Romeo talks about how he has been preparing his successor for over three years.
[1:20:30] What is next for Romeo Durscher?
[1:23:01] Where does Romeo see the global public safety market going?
[1:27:17] If there was one thing Romeo would like to see happening in the drone world, what would it be?
Mentioned in this episode:
Airborne International Response Team
Charles Werner, your host, welcomes Romeo Durscher and Christopher Todd to talk about the history of drones in public safety and emergency management, specially now that Romeo has decided to retire from his role at DJI after an amazing contribution to the field of drones. Charles, Chris, and Romeo talk thoughtfully about the opportunities, possibilities, and challenges in the implementation and use of unmanned aircraft systems for disaster response.
Chris Todd is the founder and president of Airborne Response, he also serves as the executive director of the Airborne International Response Team (AIRT®).
Romeo Durscher is the Former Senior Director of Public Safety Integration at DJI. He was born and raised in Switzerland, Romeo moved to San Jose, CA to work on a NASA space mission. After almost 13 years of working on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, doing project management, education and public outreach, and social media, Romeo spent 6 years at DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer. At DJI he built the Public Safety vertical and through his leadership and drive to bring new technologies to emergency services, he has become a leader in UAS integration, deployment, and future solution design.
Romeo was named one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Drone Industry by the Commercial UAV organization and one of 7 visionaries in Public Safety.
He is a published author and aerial photographer, known science outreach and educator, social media leader, and conference keynote speaker.
Key Takeaways:
[1:33] Romeo announces it was his last day at DJI.
[2:47] Romeo explains how he transitioned into public safety
[9:27] Romeo explains how he got the vision about the potential of drones back in 2011.
[10:20] Romeo shares how he left his work at NASA to dedicate his career to drones.
[13:24] Romeo talks about his first connection to the fire service public safety.
[17:53] Realizing there was a market for drones.
[18:56] Romeo talks about the first fire department in testing drones for public safety.
[23:21] More people became interested in drones as they became more popular and commercially publicized.
[25:45] Figuring out how drones can contribute to public safety responses.
[27:20] Search and rescue and drones
[30:59] Romeo talks about HAZMAT.
[34:04] When does a drone in a hazmat scenario become disposable?
[35:01] Romeo talks about the introduction to design changes.
[38:45] The matter of budget in public safety and how it impacts the market.
[41:11] Romeo explains why you should not start with a big aircraft.
[42:33] Batteries can be another challenge to public safety.
[44:45] There is no one drone that does it all.
[46:10] Romeo shares his biggest moments with DJI in the public safety arena.
[49:33] The emotional impact of attending a disaster is real.
[50:58] Romeo talks about the challenge of processing the data collected through drones.
[53:40] Romeo talks about drones reaching their peak of effectiveness.
[56:17] What is the next thing on the horizon for drones?
[1:01:10] Imagery is really important for damage assessment.
[1:01:33] Romeo shares his thoughts about the promise of artificial intelligence.
[1:04:09] Romeo talks about DJI’s strategies for the near future.
[1:05:39] Romeo shares a moment when he saw a drone saving a life
[1:07:05] The Lost Person Behavior App.
[1:11:15] Romeo talks about people’s reaction to him leaving DJI.
[1:13:27] Romeo was named one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Drone Industry by the Commercial UAV organization and one of 7 visionaries in Public Safety.
[1:17:38] Romeo talks about how he has been preparing his successor for over three years.
[1:20:30] What is next for Romeo Durscher?
[1:23:01] Where does Romeo see the global public safety market going?
[1:27:17] If there was one thing Romeo would like to see happening in the drone world, what would it be?
Mentioned in this episode:
Airborne International Response Team
1 hr 33 min