A UK start-up, founded in 2015 by Bournemouth graduate Gemma Alcock, that is building drone technology and a network of drone stations for the emergency services.
SkyBound Rescuer is a British company that uses drones to help the emergency services. It began in 2015 with research, innovation and education to promote drones for public safety, and became a trusted source of data and good practice for emergency services. Its current work is software and a planned national network of automated drone stations. The company would own the infrastructure and emergency services such as police, fire, coastguard and the NHS could subscribe to use it when needed. Its software is designed to plan missions for particular uses and has been connected with DJI's Cloud API. Ideas explored include using drones to deliver defibrillators.
Gemma Alcock founded the company. As an RNLI beach lifeguard in Dorset, she helped resuscitate a swimmer who was already clinically dead, and the experience led her to look at how air support could help search and rescue. Her final-year project at Bournemouth University won a Royal Academy of Engineering award, and interest from emergency services around the world helped turn it into a company. Early on, the stated mission was to build the evidence and training that UK emergency services need to use drones in search and rescue, covering night searches, mountain rescue, maritime rescue and urban search and rescue, and later to set up a search and rescue academy.
The pages we read describe SkyBound Rescuer as a UK company and name Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service as a user of its drone awareness course. A business directory lists it in the South West. A trial reported for transport in the West Midlands suggests its work reaches other regions. We could not find a street address or office town, so we cannot say precisely where its team works.
On people, a DJI profile says the team grew from one person in March 2022 to 11, and describes a research-driven culture. Gemma has spoken about facing scepticism as a young woman in male-dominated technology and public safety fields, and hopes her work encourages other women to enter these industries. That profile is an interview with the founder, so these are her views, not an independent assessment. The company also works with partners such as Professional Rescue SAR Academy and Aerones, who supported a 2017 demonstration.
The roles in a small company like this are varied: software developers, drone pilots and operators, safety and regulatory specialists, people who work with fire, police and ambulance services, and communications and business staff. A background in engineering, computing, design or emergency services could all be a way in, and Gemma's own route shows that a design business degree can lead to a drone company. Check the company's website for current vacancies.
Website: www.skyboundrescuerproject.com
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