Brinc unveils Guardian, Starlink-connected drone ‘could replace police helicopter’
Brinc Drones founder and CEO Blake Resnick has a big vision for what the company’s largest drone can accomplish.
“To replace the police helicopter,” Resnick said with a smile when asked about his purpose for the call. “And building the most powerful 911 drone ever.”
The Seattle-based manufacturer of drones for first responders for police, fire and other emergency services unveiled its new Guardian Drone during an event at its headquarters and newly unveiled factory in the Queen Anne area on Tuesday.
“Getting this out is a big deal for me,” Resnick said. “I’ve wanted to build this product for the better part of a decade, it just took a while to build the organizational capacity to actually do that. It feels good to finally be here.”
Guardian is the world’s first Starlink-connected drone. The integrated panel on top of the device gives the drone unlimited range anywhere in the world, maintaining a reliable data link when mobile or terrestrial infrastructure is not available.
The drone can also be paired with the Guardian Station, a robotic charging dock that automatically replaces batteries and helps the drone to be recharged with new devices without waiting for any charging downtime.
Other features and highlights include:
- Flight time: 62 minutes.
- Distance: Up to eight miles, compared to three miles in current systems.
- Top speed: 60 mph.
- Cameras: Dual 4K cameras with 640x optical zoom; two hot HD cameras with 1280 resolution with a total of 64x zoom (mostly lossless).
- Highlight: Laser excited white phosphor SkyBeam spotlight; 1,000 lumens, highly concentrated beam.
- Independence: It also includes computer-assisted delivery; can automatically launch a 911 call with GPS coordinates.
The Guardian’s imaging capabilities are designed to provide brilliant images day or night. The drone also has a built-in laser rangefinder, a speaker three times louder than a police siren, and a satellite parachute with its own technology for autonomous use in an emergency.
The same robotic system used to change batteries can be used to load different payloads into the Guardian, such as a defibrillator for a heart attack victim, a flotation device for a drowning person, or emergency medicine such as Narcan for an overdose victim.
The Guardian measures 75 inches wide when fully unfolded and weighs 38.6 pounds, with a maximum takeoff weight of 48.6 pounds.
The Guardian has about 900 current customers, most of them in the US Resnick points to a large market before 20,000 police departments, 30,000 fire departments, and 80,000 police and fire stations. If half of those buildings have $100,000 response drones and charging pods on the roof, you think Brinc will be very successful.
A police helicopter can cost upwards of $4 million. Add in the thousands of dollars per flight hour, engine maintenance, fuel costs, etc., and Resnick has the power to be called a Guardian to chase a stolen car or zoom into a burning building.
“If you compare costs, we’re in a different place,” he said.
Related:
- Drone Home: Brinc moves to massive new HQ and factory in Seattle amid rapid growth of startup
- Drone capital of the world? Seattle could be a big winner in the US invasion of DJI and others
- Public safety drone maker Brinc raises $75M, forms strategic alliance with Motorola
