For two weeks – from July 6^th until the 17^th – Cannes was a hive of activity once more, as the Cannes Film Festival returned following a year’s sabbatical, enforced by the global health crisis of COVID-19.

Actors Matt Damon, Regina King, Maggie Gyllenhaal and director Spike Lee were just a few of the 28,000-strong crowd that returned to the French resort town to mingle and binge-watch films non-stop for the duration of the festival, as organisers bit their nails over fears of the event turning out to be a pandemic super spreader.

But for Delta Drone, the sleepless nights were over something entirely different.

Security.

The international drone services provider had entered into a partnership in 2019 with the Palais des Congrès et des Festivals de Cannes (Cannes Palace of Conferences and Festivals) to provide drone-based security services to the festival.

Eager for an opportunity to showcase the eagle-eyed abilities of the ISS Spotter drone-in-a-box solution, Delta Drone’s hopes were dashed by the postponement of the film festival last year.

But they waited patiently, even when the 2021 event was pushed from May to July.

And surely, their time to shine finally came, and when it did, Delta Drone’s tethered version of the ISS Spotter was ready.

The drone company’s mission called for close collaboration between the venue security, the police and Prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes; and combined the wired ISS Spotter system, a remote pilot and a “video operator” security officer: a concrete example of the dronification of the security sector

“Alongside the police and the Palais’s security department, the device consisted of an ISS Spotter system operated by a remote pilot, positioned on the roof of the Palais, and a specially trained security officer, located in the premises of the police station,” Delta Drone said.

“Following the National Police officer’s instructions, the security officer was able to remotely control the drone camera, monitoring the flow of people from an altitude of about 50 metres. The system allows optimisation of security and flows management, especially during the notorious red carpet event, one of the daily highlights of the Film Festival.”

Fortunately, the festival came and went without incident, both on the security, and health front, and Delta Drone were happy to have done their job well.

The company’s ISS Spotter is just but one version of a recent explosion of drone-in-a-box solutions that are proving integral to providing security at events and business premises. The security drone stays on standby in its box (which also acts as a charging port and launch pad) until it is triggered into action by a remote pilot.

After its work is done, the drone returns to its lair, where it recharges and wait for further orders.

Delta Drone’s ISS Spotter has three versions of the drone-in-a-box: the automatic version, intended for the permanent surveillance of sensitive industrial sites, in addition to human resources and fixed equipment; the tethered version, particularly suitable for security and crowd management during events; and the mobile version, dedicated to the surveillance of large areas.

“In any case, these 3 versions of the ISS Spotter solution address many applications, both civil and military, both in France and abroad, especially on the African continent where Delta Drone has a customer base in more than 10 countries.”

The police and security companies in South Africa could really have found these drones especially useful in the wake of the violent protests of the past week.