Drone system ensures visitors' safety during holiday

During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, many tourists chose to visit Dapeng to enjoy the sea and hike in the mountains. To ensure the safety of visitors, Dapeng New Area introduced an innovative "Sky Guardian" smart drone system.

At the Dapeng New Area Emergency Management Monitoring, Early Warning, and Command Center, drone operators remotely control the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from their workstations.

"With a simple command from the operator, the smart drone nest opens automatically, and the UAV takes off to carry out inspection tasks at designated locations," said Huang Jiajie, a staffer from the Dapeng New Area Emergency Management Bureau.

"During the dual holidays, popular tourist spots experienced a surge in visitor numbers. The Dapeng New Area Emergency Management Bureau utilized drones to conduct real-time crowd statistics and dynamic monitoring."

According to Huang, one common observation was that many people were fishing on rocks prone to rising water levels. In such cases, the drones were immediately deployed to broadcast warnings, urging tourists to return to safe areas.

The "Sky Guardian" initiative in Dapeng New Area provides shared services for public security, traffic police, maritime affairs, culture and tourism, emergency response, and fire departments. The system features fully autonomous capabilities, including takeoff, landing, and battery charging or swapping.

A total of 21 fully automated drones are on call, ensuring that in the event of an emergency, a drone can be dispatched and arrive at the scene within five minutes. This provides round-the-clock coverage of key areas such as coastal waters, beaches, and forested regions. Through AI recognition, real-time broadcasting, and thermal imaging technologies, these drones help safeguard tourists.

With just one click, drone operators can launch any of the 21 drones stationed across the district, enabling rapid reconnaissance and efficient incident response.