Jaguar Land Rover is embracing drone technology with its new special operations vehicle ‘Project Hero’.
The unique version of the Land Rover Discovery has been created specifically for the Austrian Red Cross as part of Jaguar’s partnership with the humanitarian network, and the hope is that it will reduce emergency response times for the service.
The car is essentially a modified version of the Land Rover Discovery.
Its most interesting modification by far is that it comes equipped with its very own search and discovery drone, which is capable of taking off and landing on the vehicle’s roof even when it’s in motion.
The idea behind the drone is that it’ll be able to take off from the vehicle and scout ahead of the Red Cross emergency response team, transmitting live footage back.
Eye in the sky
In emergencies such as landslides, earthquakes, floods and avalanches where terrain can change dramatically and quickly in a way that renders maps useless, the drone will give the teams information that will enable them to respond more quickly and effectively, and increase their chances of finding and rescuing survivors.
In addition to the drone technology, the car will also feature strategically positioned LED lights to help make the car more identifiable when using night vision, and power supply points capable of accepting multi-region plugs.
Project Hero will be based at the Austrian Red Cross training center in Erzberg, and in Vienna, for 12 months starting June 2017.
The drone will be used in simulations to develop new techniques for disaster relief, as well as on test-runs for natural disaster scenarios in a variety of weather, time, and terrain conditions.
