A US company is promoting the idea of using flying drones to help retailers stop shoplifting.
The company, Flock Safety, has started to offer its drone system to the private sector, expanding the sales outside of law enforcement. According to MIT Technology Review, this includes using the airborne drones as a potential way to curb retail theft.
“The drone follows the people. The people get in a car. You click a button,” Flock Safety’s Keith Kauffman told the publication. “And you track the vehicle with the drone, and the drone just follows the car.” The drone footage could then be sent to the retailer’s security teams or police.
(Flock Safety)
Flock Safety has also published a blog post about how its drones could “combat shoplifting, violent crime, and more” through 24-hour surveillance from the flying bots. One potential scenario could involve the drones being deployed if a theft occurs late at night.
“Instead of sending a security guard to investigate, a drone immediately launches into the sky. It arrives within seconds at the location where the motion was detected, utilizing its advanced sensors, including a thermal camera, scanning below,” the company wrote. “Your security team uses the drone’s camera to zoom in and see exactly where the suspect is and where he’s headed.”
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The blog post adds that the drone system features “flexible pricing,” and can do the “work of multiple roving guards and numerous fixed cameras.” In addition, the company says the drones could also be deployed at shopping malls, acting as “a deterrent because criminals and other bad actors are less likely to target an area when they see a security drone.”
For now, Flock Safety told MIT Technology Review that it’s merely in talk with large retailers, having yet to secure any contracts. Still, the company is pitching the drone solution to other potential customers, including operators of hospital campuses and warehouse sites.
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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
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