HySight Tech turns police work into UAV business

HySight Technologies was conceptualized at the end of 2014 when police officers Ryan Anschutz and John Bartoloucci saw how beneficial unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) technology could be for the public safety sector. The technology would allow agencies to walk officers into the known, rather than walking them into the unknown, avoiding potential fatal situations.

Anschutz said the UAV technology would also reduce time spent looking for missing people, which is statistically proven to increase chances of survival.

“We truly believe that by using this technology and educating public safety agencies on the UAV’s capabilities, we will be able to save lives,” added Anschutz. “We’re not businessmen, we’re not salesmen, we’re policemen and that’s what we do—we’re in the business to save lives.”

HySight Technologies began as a retail company that provided UAV technology to the public safety market. Recently, the team filed, and was approved, for a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Section 333 exemption, which has allowed them to move into the services side of the business.

Equipped with its exemption, the Ohio-based company conducts commercial operations as it pertains to public safety support, inspection, monitoring, patrolling, videography, photography, precision agriculture and surveying. The team’s UAVs are equipped with technology for accurate aerial data collection and 3D modeling, which Bartoloucci said they’ve seen an overwhelming demand for.

“With the 3D modeling, we basically take the images that we get, stitch them together—which then gets processed into the 3D models—and then we connect that into the CAD software that engineers can then interpret,” said Bartoloucci. “It can be used for everything from building reconstruction and roof inspections to crime scene modeling.”

The team is currently sub-dealers for DJI and does a lot of work with Phantoms and the Inspire. HySight also uses FLIR’s thermal imaging systems, visible-light imaging systems, locator systems, measurement and diagnostic systems and advanced threat detection systems.

“With these thermal imaging payloads, we’re able to control the camera through the app,” said Anschutz.

“It also allows us to switch back and forth between the thermal and normal video so it can fly into situations more accurately,” Bartoloucci added.

The UAV packages HySight sells includes up to eight hours of complementary training, which involves lessons in the airspace a particular agency will be operating in and familiarization with how to pilot the specific UAV.

“We give them a familiarization course that’s usually eight hours and that gives them the basic foundation to train on their own,” said Anschutz.

“Our goal is to produce safe, competent people who are able to operate UAVs in the national airspace,” added Bartoloucci. “A big portion of that is training our end-user where they can and can’t fly.”

The overall goal for HySight Technologies is to build a national drone pilot network—a national database—to service out individuals to train and provide services for companies and agencies that want to implement HySight’s UAV packages. With that, the team is seeking actively trained pilots who meet HySight Technologies qualifications for its Section 333 exemption. 

“If we have potential clients interested in our products out in Colorado, we can tap into our database and ask our respective person to meet with those clients,” said Anschutz. “It makes more sense than having Bartoloucci and I fly all of the country.”

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