Leonardtown, MD – St Mary’s County Government and St. Mary’s County Public Schools will host a First Responders Drone Symposium on Tuesday, August 4 at the CAPT Walter F. Duke Elementary School in Leonardtown. The symposium will include presentations and live demonstrations of drone use for fire and rescue services and police operations.
The goal of the symposium is to provide an opportunity for First Responders to learn how unmanned systems technology can be used in emergency operations. This will be demonstrated during a simulated police raid and a controlled burn of a vacant building. The controlled burn will be managed by the St. Mary’s County Fire Chief with assistance from the Leonardtown and Hollywood Volunteer Fire Departments. The public may see smoke rising from the site of the demonstration. As a result of the demonstration, school registration at the Duke Elementary School will not be available.
Local businesses supporting the event include Aviation Systems Engineering Company (ASEC), leading the drone demonstration effort; and Smartronix, Inc., providing integrated radio, data, and video communications capability. Both locally headquartered companies have partnered with the County to provide technical assistance for the drone demonstrations and will provide presentations on the use of this advanced technology by First Responders.
Unmanned system technology and services are forecast to experience dramatic growth and will likely improve commerce, enhance public safety, and create new opportunities for research and testing. According to Business Insider’s 2015 drone market report, $15 billion will be spent on commercial applications, including unmanned systems research and development, software and hardware.
St. Mary’s County is well positioned to participate in this emerging market sector which promises new business development and local job growth. A University of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site is located at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport; and in several years, the County anticipates that a University System of Maryland research facility will be constructed on the campus of the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center in California, Maryland. This will create the State’s first and only campus for research and development and test and evaluation for unmanned systems, making St. Mary’s County a leader in the unmanned and autonomous systems’ industry nationwide.