ST. LOUIS — A former St. Louis police officer creates a crime fighting tool involving drones and artificial intelligence. As local police battle shortages and ongoing crime, the former officer is taking a step back from his profession in order to help his profession. He’s hoping it will make a difference in his own hometown.
"Especially downtown we’ve had a lot of issues with big, large groups at night, 2 o’clock in the morning,” said Christian Johnson, a former police officer of seven years.
He now has a new plan: train police officers and other first responders on how to use drones, offering a high flying extra set of eyes to do the job.
"This is really good for night flying when officers are looking for suspects,” he said while showcasing the drone with thermal technology to see at night. He said it also offers a benefit for other first responders: "Firefighters who need to have overheard vision of fires."
He created the company Respond AI, training off duty first responders who want to gain extra skills to make them more valuable for their respective agencies. He remembers fighting crime and wishing he had a tool like this.
"We’re looking for a suspect that’s armed in the field and we don't have eyes on them,” he recalled.
There's another aspect of his company, a crime analysis software called Metis OS, allowing for the input and analysis of data in different communities.
"To understand crime trends, be able to predict where crime will happen next,” he explained.
It incorporates artificial intelligence to help first responders get information about specific locations. He demonstrated how the technology recites useful information when asked a question about a certain locality.
Johnson considers the technology a game-changer to take keeping the public safe to higher heights.
"Integrating things like drones, smart body cameras, more information about the location, that is really the future, a smart future,” he said.
So far, Respond AI has trained about 50 first responders. The goal is to help them get FAA certified. The company is now reaching out to entire agencies to help them establish or strengthen their drone programs.