Photo above – Mark Lang; Territory Account Executive, BRINC; sUAS 107 Certified – Retired LEO.
North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA) – a 501(c)3 regional consortium of more than 40 municipalities, agencies, corporations and academic institutions across North Texas with a mission to build the most connected, smart and resilient region in the country – has partnered with Dallas County to launch a UAS and Robotics Technology Program in support of Dallas County’s Smart County Blueprint. The program will help drive the potential adoption of innovative drone and robotic solutions to improve county efficiencies, enhance public safety and address day-to-day processes of various county departments.
The county held a demonstration today for vendors in the UAS, robotics and drone industries to showcase their latest solutions in the areas of parking lot surveillance, illegal dumping detection, inventory management, inter-office and building delivery, remote fleet vehicle inspections, building inspection/evaluations and robotics for public safety. The demonstration day was a result of Dallas County allowing for a call for innovation for groundbreaking solutions in this space, after condensing the highly competitive entry pool from over 35 responses. County stakeholders including the Sheriff’s Department, Buildings Department, Fire Marshal’s Office and more were present to evaluate the demonstrations.
“The UAS and Robotics Program is the next step for Dallas County reaching its Smart County vision,” said NTXIA Co-Founder and Executive Director Jennifer Sanders. “Together with our partners, NTXIA’s mission is to help municipalities in the North Texas region discover world-class smart city technologies and important resources they will need to improve the lives of citizens and create efficiencies, as well as elevate public safety into the future. Today’s drone demo day is a reflection of how bringing together stakeholders from the technology world, government and business will push us to the forefront in smart region leadership – helping to also drive sensible policy and exposure of exciting new innovations to the public.”
NTXIA launched Dallas County’s Smart County Blueprint in 2021 to help local governments leverage new solutions to improve outcomes and resource efficiencies, as well as enhance quality of life for Dallas County jurisdictions and their residents. The UAS and Robotics Technology Program is a key item on the agenda for 2023 to help government stakeholders understand the value and feasibility of scaling and implementing these solutions county-wide.
“As a county, we want to best serve our residents and enhance their day-to-day lives by leveraging the latest technology solutions, and our drone and robotics program is just the beginning,” said Dallas County Assistant County Administrator Jonathon Bazan. “Our Smart County Blueprint aims to create a cohesive experience for residents with access to similar technologies as they cross city lines within Dallas County and making government leaders aware of the technologies available and their benefits is the first step toward long-term implementation. NTXIA has been key in helping our county both shape and execute on this vision, and today’s demo day allows leaders, stakeholders and constituents to see the potential of this vision firsthand.”
“We are thrilled to see Dallas County embracing groundbreaking technologies in the drone and robotics spaces,” said Dallas County Fire Marshal Robert De Los Santos. “As a servant of the community, our goal is to best protect our county, and this demo day will allow key county leaders to be exposed to proven and tested solutions that can serve for practical use cases today, and future solutions that will allow our county to continue to progress with the latest technologies. These solutions will be able to assist us in our duties of surveillance, public safety and more. It is truly exciting to be part of a county that is focused on preparing for the future for the benefit of its citizens.”
