Taming Disaster: Drones For Good

Christopher Todd

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Hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, floods. Drones and related technologies are helping to reshape the way we prepare for, respond to, and recover from complex incidents and disasters. Immerse yourself into the conversation with Christopher Todd, a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and FAA-certified remote pilot, as he features new industry-leading subject matter experts to discuss the use of Drones for Good on Taming Disaster™!

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Apr 19, 2021

Episode 017: AT&T’s Contribution to Disaster Response Operations with Art Pregler

Christopher Todd, your host, welcomes Art Pregler, director of strategic initiatives for AT&T, which is quite a dramatic program in the UAS field for disaster response and other operations. Art Pregler is AT&T’s UAS Program Director responsible for nationwide oversight and internal implementation of drones. He is also Director of National Mobility Systems, responsible for the development of enterprise data systems. Prior to AT&T, Art served DOD, NASA, DARPA, and other technology-focused agencies as a Command & Control Officer, Air Traffic Controller, Air Weapons Controller, and Mission Control Specialist. Art is a member of the joint FAA/drone industry Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST); and RTCA Special Committee 228 (Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned Aircraft Systems); and the NATE UAS Committee; the FAA’s 2016 mUAS Aviation Rule-Making Committee (ARC) for flight over people; and the Washington Governor’s Unmanned Systems Industry Council. Key Takeaways: [1:19] How did Art start in the unmanned air systems industry? [2:46] What was it like working in the 80s at the second rise of the American Space Program? [4:33] Art shares his thoughts about the work of SpaceX. [5:29] How did Art make the transition to work at AT&T? [7:15] How did AT&T start in unmanned aircraft systems? [12:04] Art explains how AT&T’s work contributes to the field of first responders and emergency management. [12:58] What is a COW from AT&T’s perspective? [13:49] Art gives examples of the ways they are using AT&T’s technology. [14:45] Art talks about how AT&T works on floods and tornadoes. [15:29] How many people can be covered with a single COW? [16:17] What does a Flying COW look like? [18:56] How does AT&T interact with the FAA? [20:02] Art talks about the culture of aviation safety established at AT&T. [21:50] How did AT&T develop its standards? [22:08] How to become an AT&T remote pilot. [24:10] Art talks about the logistics operations for unmanned aircraft. [27:25] Art shares some of the key learnings he developed over his last couple of deployments that impacted the UAS program. [29:25] Art shares his view of the future of unmanned aviation. Mentioned in this episode: Airborne International Response Team AIRT is the leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supporting Drones For Good and Public Safety UAS Become a member of Drone Responders for free. DRONERESPONDERS YouTube Channel DRONERESPONDERS on Facebook.