Dedrone integrates drone detection tech into Johnson Controls building security offer

Leading airspace protection company Dedrone is broadening the range of activity of its drone detection and identification tech into everyday circumstances by teaming up with Johnson Controls, a specialist in building and venue safety services.

The move reflects Dedrone’s efforts to widen the kinds of situations in which its detection, tracking, and – when necessary and allowed – mitigation of invasive or threatening drone capabilities are deployed. In its link-up with Johnson Controls, the company will extend its aerial security activities beyond traditional defense and security work for government and private business clients into the kinds of environments people live, work, and play in on a daily basis.

“For counter-drone security to be effective, it cannot be siloed from the overall security measures and tools within an organization,” said Ben Wenger, Dedrone’s chief revenue officer. “Dedrone’s integration with Johnson Controls offers a complete airspace security solution that makes it easy to add counter-drone security, helping security industry leaders protect everything from critical infrastructure to correctional facilities, stadiums and event venues from airborne threats.”

To do that, Dedrone will integrate its artificial intelligence- and machine learning-driven drone detection and management products into Johnson Controls’ portfolio of security solutions for the smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings and venues being protected. Dedrone’s counter-UAV tech will be brought aboard through Johnson Controls’ open Application Programming Interface, enabling cloud-based airspace security as a service to customers across the 150 countries it works in.

The move serves two purposes at once. The inclusion of Dedrone’s drone detection, monitoring, and mitigation capabilities allows Johnson Controls to offer customers a response to the rapidly rising problem of invasive UAVs and the threats they can pose.

At the same time, tucking those aerial capacities under its wing permits Johnson Controls to significantly enlarge the scope of its comprehensive OpenBlue digital security offer it provides to healthcare facilities, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, and manufacturing installations.

“Unauthorized drones have been increasingly used to exploit security at transportation hubs, large public venues, prisons, and critical infrastructure facilities worldwide,” noted Sanjeev Singh, vice president of product and program management, security products for Johnson Controls. “That’s why we offer everything from access controls and command center solutions to AI-enabled video surveillance and intruder prevention for holistic, physical-security coverage. The threat of unauthorized drones has created a gap in security portfolios across numerous industries that needs immediate attention. Counter-drone security is a proactive solution to detect and reduce this threat.”  

Read: Dedrone’s hand-held counter-UAV DedroneDefender unveiled

Dedrone’s DedroneTracker detection and monitoring platform is built on open systems architecture, which facilitates integration to any third-party inputs, including sensors, cameras, and other counter-drone identification and mitigation solutions. Interfacing Dedrone’s full catalog of aerial security tech will spot, track, and identify unauthorized UAVs near buildings of Johnson Controls clients, and determine the exact location of craft operators to permit first responders to be dispatched in real-time.