NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First
Responders
OMB Control #0693-0033
Expiration: 06/30/2019

1. Have you worked (or do you currently work) in a public safety
department that has a drones program?
Yes
No

2. What type of public safety organization are you currently
with? (check all that apply)
Explosive Ordinance Disposal
Fire Fighting
Law Enforcement (Local or Federal)
Military
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

Rescue Services
Other:

3. What is your jurisdiction? (check all that apply)
City
County
State
Federal
Other:

4. What type of geographic environments does your department
typically operate in (check all that apply)?
Desert
Mountains
Rural
Suburban
Urban
Wildland
Other:

5. What is your position/title within your organization?
Your answer

6. Please describe your day-to-day job responsibilities.
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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

Your answer

7. How many years of experience do you have in your current
line of work?
Less than 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
5 to 10 years
More than 10 years

8. Do you have other types of public safety experience?
Yes
No (skip to question 9)

If so, what type of public safety organization(s) did you work with
prior to your current job (check all that apply)?
Explosive Ordinance Disposal
Fire Fighting
Law Enforcement (Local or Federal)
Military
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Rescue Services
Other:

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

How many years of experience did you have with your prior
public safety organization(s)?
Less than 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
More than 5 years

9. If you answered "no" in question #1 for participating in a
public safety drones program, is your department actively
developing or considering a drones program? Please explain
(then skip to question 12)
Your answer

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First
Responders
Drones Program Experience
10. How long has your department had (or did your department
have) a drones program?
Less than 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
More than 5 years

Please list some of the drone models operating in your
department (or write "I don't know" if unsure).
Your answer

Do you have licensed drones pilots within your organization or
does your organization hire or borrow pilots to fly department
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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

drones?
Yes
No
I don't know

comments
Your answer

11. Do you have any experience flying drones?
Yes
No

If yes, how many years of drone flying experience do you have?
Less than 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
More than 5 years

Additional comments
Your answer

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First
Responders
Missions with no Broadband Communications
12. Have you been involved in any missions during which
cellular broadband communications (voice and/or data) were not
available (e.g. the wireless infrastructure was down or you were
in a remote area where wireless infrastructure doesn’t exist)?
Yes
No

If yes, briefly list the kind of mission (such as “searching for a
missing person” or “forest fire-fighting”), the type of environment
(such as “residential dwelling,” “high rise building,” “rural fields,”
“rugged mountainous terrain”), and the reason why
communications systems were not available.
Your answer

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

Where cellular broadband communications were not available,
was there a need for or would you have wanted wireless
communications?
Yes
No

If yes, please describe what the added benefit to the mission
would have been?
Your answer

13. Would you consider continuous cellular communications a
necessity in the types of missions that you are involved in?
Yes
No

Please explain your answer.
Your answer

14. What size cellular broadband coverage area would you need
surrounding a single mission area in order to support that
mission?
Less than 1 mile radius
Between 1 mile and 5mile radius
Between 5 mile and 10 mile radius
More than 10 mile radius

If you prefer listing the coverage area in terms of acreage, list it

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

here.
Your answer

If you answered "no" in question #1 for participating in a public
safety drones program, feel free to skip to the final question #24.
Your answer

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First
Responders
Drones Specifications
15. If drones could stay in the air indefinitely and a drone was
able to provide continuous cellular broadband coverage for first
responders in areas where coverage was not available,
approximately how long would you anticipate needing the drone
to stay in the air during such a mission?
30 to 60 minutes
60 to 90 minutes
90 to 120 minutes
More than 120 minutes
Other:

What would you consider a safe minimum flight elevation above
ground level (AGL) for such a drone?
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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

50 ft
100 ft
150 ft
200 ft
300 ft
400 ft
Other:

16. If a drone (that can provide continuous cellular broadband
coverage) could be either tethered to a ground control station
with a cable (supplying continuous power to the drone and
communications between the ground station and the drone), or
untethered (i.e. completely wireless), which one would be more
useful for your organization (or missions)?
Tethered
Untethered
A mix of both

Please explain your choice for tethered, untethered, or both.
Your answer

17. If a drone (that can provide continuous cellular broadband
coverage) could be either an untethered multi-rotor drone that
can take-off and land vertically, an untethered fixed-wing drone
that can take-off and land horizontally, or an untethered hybrid
drone that can take-off and land vertically and then fly

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

horizontally, would you choose one type over another?
Yes
No

Please explain your answer and your drone preference.
Your answer

What are your logistical and operational considerations for
choosing one type over another?
Your answer

18. What would be your preferred power source for drones that
can provide continuous cellular broadband coverage (for
example, all electric, liquid fuel, or a hybrid electric/fuel)?
Your answer

19. Would you consider other power sources such as hydrogen
fuel cells, etc.?
Yes
No

If yes, which power source would you consider and what
advantages do you think that power source has over others?
Your answer

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First
Responders
Other Considerations for Drone Use
20. If a drone that can provide continuous cellular broadband
coverage were available, do you think that having a highpowered zoom camera or thermal camera on the drone would
be needed or useful?
Yes
No

If yes, list the type of camera(s) and how it might be used [e.g.
visible light camera, FLIR (thermal imaging) camera].
Your answer

If yes, would you need to fly at a particular maximum altitude in
order to obtain useful footage from the camera(s)? Please
explain.
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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

Your answer

21. If a drone that can provide continuous cellular broadband
coverage were available and weighed more than 55 lbs (which
requires special waivers from the FAA to fly) would you consider
using such a drone?
Yes
No

Why or why not?
Your answer

22. As it relates to an LTE-carrying drone, how rugged does the
drone need to be? For example, would you expect to operate in
weather or environmental conditions such as heavy dew, light
rain after a hurricane, dust or sand after a disaster, high
humidity or smoke?
Your answer

Do you have concerns with noise factors either for the drone
communications, community or environment it's flying in?
Your answer

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First
Responders
* Required

Budget and Final Comments
23. As it pertains to your agency’s budget and the value to your
agency of having this tool at your disposal, what would be a
reasonable or affordable cost for your agency to spend on a
drone used to deploy cellular broadband communications?
Less than $5,000
$5,000 to $10,000
$10,000 to $20,000
$20,000 to $30,000
$30,000 to $50,000
Other:

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NIST: Survey of Drone Usage by First Responders

24. Do you have additional comments that might help PSCR in
their research efforts to advance wireless communications for
America's first responders?
Your answer

This collection of information contains Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA) requirements approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law,
no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be
subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of
information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless that
collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control
number. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated
to be 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden
estimate or any aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, to the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Attn: Terese Manley,
terese.manley@nist.gov . *
I acknowledge that I read this PRA statement.

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