The Sterling Heights City Council recently approved a partnership between the city of Sterling Heights and Airspace Link Inc. to conduct a comprehensive Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Readiness Assessment for the municipality. The engagement with Airspace Link is one more initiative that underscores the city’s commitment to innovating living for residents, visitors and businesses.
As part of the partnership, Airspace Link will conduct an assessment of the current state of Sterling Heights’ UAS readiness, future objectives and integration plans across all relevant departments. The assessment’s final report will outline a roadmap and recommendations for integrating drones into Sterling Heights in the future. The assessment will help evaluate and understand the community’s vast potential for drone utilization to help optimize city services, improve public safety and foster economic growth.
Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration.
“The future is here, and Sterling Heights is embracing it. This readiness assessment is laying the groundwork that will allow us to really take advantage of the full potential of drone technology in ways that will benefit our entire community. The possibilities for use are almost limitless.”
Sterling Heights is considering the use of UAS technology for multiple community benefits, including:
- Response and Public Safety –assessing disaster areas, searching for missing persons, monitoring traffic during emergencies, assisting in firefighting operations with real-time aerial views and more.
- Infrastructure Inspection – inspecting bridges, roads, pipelines and more with reduced risk to human inspectors and lower costs to allow for more frequent inspections as well as inspecting power lines, cell towers and other utility infrastructure to help minimize downtime.
- Planning and Development – gathering aerial imagery used to create 3D maps that can be used for planning, land development and zoning to provide critical information used for infrastructure projects, transportation routing and environmental conservation.
- Economic Development – exploring services for businesses that need cost-effective delivery options for consumer and commercial goods, thereby expanding potential markets, as well as capturing aerial footage for use in promotion encouraging tourism and recreational activities.
- Environmental Monitoring – monitoring air quality, water pollution and ecological changes in parks, providing early detection of environmental hazards.
- Search and Rescue – assisting in locating missing persons to help speed up search and rescue operations and increase their rate of success.
- Traffic Management – monitoring traffic flow, identifying pinch points and assisting in accident reconstruction to help manage traffic and improve road safety.
The UAS Readiness Assessment will involve extensive consultations with stakeholders from various sectors, including government agencies, local businesses, educational institutions, and community organizations. These consultations will be used to form a comprehensive strategy for integrating drones throughout the community while addressing important issues like regulatory compliance, safety concerns, and privacy considerations.
“We commend Sterling Heights for taking a bold and proactive step toward capitalizing on the rapid growth of the drone industry,” said Airspace Link CEO Michael Healander. “Our assessment will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of Sterling Heights’ drone ecosystem today, while capturing an inclusive view of their objectives for future UAS integration. It’s our mission to prepare Sterling Heights with the critical data and insights they need to leverage the transformative potential of this technology for the benefit of all their residents and businesses.”
For more information about the UAS Readiness Assessment and other innovative Sterling Heights initiatives, visit sterlingheights.gov.
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