Drone first responder system · Northern Michigan
First on scene.
Northern Michigan's emergency response gap is measured in minutes. Prelude closes it in seconds.
Northern Michigan's emergency response gap is measured in minutes. Prelude closes it in seconds.
In Northern Michigan's rural counties, emergency ground units average 12 to 18 minutes to reach remote incidents. In cardiac arrest, neurologically intact survival drops sharply after 13 minutes. By the time the first unit arrives, the outcome is often already decided.
Drownings in inland lakes. Overdoses on forest roads. Accidents on M-72 and US-31 with no witnesses. Structural fires in cabins set back from county roads. Northern Michigan's geography — its defining quality — is also its greatest barrier to rapid emergency response.
Volunteer departments cover hundreds of square miles with limited staffing. Mutual aid requests add time, not subtract it. The 4-minute window — the critical period before brain damage begins in cardiac arrest — closes long before help arrives across most of our region.
That gap is what Prelude closes.
Prelude deploys a network of remotely stationed DJI FlyCart30 drones at dedicated ground-level docking stations across Northern Michigan. When 911 is dispatched, a drone launches automatically — no pilot required, no staging delay, no equipment check.
The drone carries an AED and naloxone directly to the scene — putting lifesaving tools in the hands of the bystander already on the line with 911, minutes before the first ambulance can arrive. Live HD video streams to dispatch the entire time, so ground units roll in already knowing the incident scale, number of patients, access conditions, and active hazards.
The drone does not replace your responders. It makes every responder more effective from the moment the call comes in.
Fully autonomous launch within 90 seconds of dispatch. No pilot needed, no staging delay — the drone is airborne and en route from the nearest docking station.
Each drone carries an AED and naloxone to the scene — putting defibrillation and overdose reversal in the hands of the bystander who called 911, minutes before EMS can arrive.
High-definition video streams to your dispatch console over AT&T FirstNet, giving command real-time eyes on the incident as ground units respond.
When a call comes in, your CAD system simultaneously triggers the nearest Prelude docking station. No separate process, no additional action from dispatch. The drone launches within seconds of the call being logged.
Within 90 seconds of the call, the drone has launched and is flying direct-line to the scene. It carries an AED and naloxone and streams live HD video to your dispatch console over AT&T FirstNet's dedicated public safety network — a signal that does not compete with civilian traffic.
Often arriving ahead of ground units, the drone delivers its AED and naloxone to the people already on scene — guiding the 911 caller through defibrillation or overdose reversal. Crews then roll in informed: number of patients, incident type, access conditions, active hazards already known before they step out of the vehicle.
Prelude is powered by the DROPS (Drone Rescue Operations) system by TB2 Aerospace, integrated with AT&T FirstNet — the national broadband network built exclusively for public safety. This is not experimental technology. It is the gold standard for autonomous drone-as-first-responder deployment at scale.
Drones are stationed at dedicated ground-level docks and are grid-powered with battery backups making them always ready. No tower infrastructure. No site modification. Docking stations are sited strategically to maximize coverage across your service area.
C2 and HD video stream over a dedicated public safety network that stays online when civilian networks jam. During mass casualty events — when consumer LTE becomes congested — FirstNet maintains unthrottled bandwidth for command and control.
A 911 dispatch triggers a drone launch with the click of a button — no pilot needed on scene, with eyes over the incident before units pull out. One remote operator can manage an entire county's fleet from a centralized console.
Leveraging existing cellular coverage means Prelude scales across Northwestern Michigan's diverse geography — dense forests, inland lakes, coastal stretches, and rural corridors — without building new radio relay infrastructure from scratch.
Aerial reconnaissance before units arrive on scene. Active pursuit tracking, perimeter establishment, and missing person search support across rural and forested terrain where ground visibility is limited.
Scene size-up before the first apparatus commits. Structure fire access assessment, wildland fire perimeter tracking, and medical incident support including AED delivery to locations inaccessible by ground vehicle.
Regional situational awareness during multi-agency incidents, disaster response, and large-scale events. A single operator at your EOC can oversee the full county drone fleet in real time.
Prelude is designed from the ground up for government procurement. Every component of the program — hardware, network, operations, and training — is structured to align with public safety procurement standards and available grant funding streams.
Prelude program deployments may be eligible for funding through several federal and state grant programs available to public safety agencies:
We can assist your agency in identifying applicable funding streams as part of the program overview process.
We are actively seeking municipal and county partners across Northern Michigan for a 90-day proof of concept deployment. Pilot partners receive a fully operational docking station and drone asset, dispatch integration support, operator training, and a detailed outcomes report at the end of the engagement.
This is not a study. It is an operational deployment with real incidents and measurable results. At the end of 90 days, you will have the data you need to make a program decision.
Complete the form below and we will respond within one business day with a program overview and next steps.