Students get bird’s-eye view of drone technology

GENTRY — Lt. Michael Toland of Harrison’s Police Department visited the Gentry’s middle and high schools Sept. 25 to show the robotics students the drones the department uses for special operations, crime scene processing, and traffic accident photography.

One of the drones demonstrated has a price tag of just over $ 30,000. Toland says the drone is equipped with state-of-the-art optics and an infrared vision “heat-seeking” camera. It has a flight time of approximately 40 to 45 minutes and can fly a distance of approximately 9 miles, according to the manufacturer.

Toland attended drone pilot school and had to test for a drone pilot license.

Commercial drones were approved for use in the U.S. in 2015 and are expected to create 100,000 new jobs by 2025, adding $ 13.7 billion to the American economy. Just last week, Walmart announced

the exploration of on-demand delivery by announcing a new pilot with Flytrex, an end-toend drone delivery company.

Gentry robotics teacher Jordan Toland says, “The future is here. My goal is to expose Gentry students to the world of robotics and technology already in use commercially and maybe prepare

them for a career in it.”

Jordan says Gentry plans on competing in the school’s first robotics and coding competition this year.

“While it may have to be a virtual competition due to covid-19, it will get our feet wet and we will know more of what to expect next year,” Jordan said.

This image demonstrates the capabilities of the drone to capture aerial images and shows what the accompanying image detects based on infrared signatures with infrared thermal imaging. (Courtesy Photo/Greg Toland)

This image demonstrates the capabilities of the drone to detect varying heat temperatures and create a photograph based on infrared thermal imaging. (Courtesy Photo/Greg Toland)