IRONMAN Triathlon Championships
Woodlands, Texas USA
The Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (MCOHSEM) deployed DroneShield's DroneSentry System at the 2023 IRONMAN Triathlon Championships in Woodlands, Texas for the second consecutive year. The deployment consisted of a full DroneSentry detection system distributed across several points to ensure comprehensive coverage over the entire length of the race.
The Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas is a high-profile international athletic championship requiring over 4,000 volunteers. It draws thousands of spectators over several days, calling for substantial public safety measures to be taken. Disturbances could cause risks to bystanders, as well as negatively impact use of the public infrastructure on which the race occurs.
Interruptions such as rogue drone ingress could undo much of the hard work that goes in to minimising the obstruction of public spaces, and interfere with the official use of drones for filming the event.
DroneSentry-C2 software used in conjunction with DroneOptID for visual confirmation of detections
The DroneSentry system provides real-time alerts, enabling security personnel to respond quickly to any potential threats posed by unmanned systems. The modular design of DroneSentry components means that event organisers can mix and match components to suit their needs, and the Universal Mounting System (UMS Mk2) allows them to quickly setup and take down all the sensors – even in an environment not originally designed to support them.
The DroneSentry system is composed of a variety of sensors to ensure very high confidence in detection, regardless what sort of threats arise. RfOne Mk2 radio frequency sensors detect signals released by unmanned vehicles, RadarZero radar and DroneOpt1 camera system can independently detect any unknown items, and use cutting edge AI-powered detection, identification, and tracking through DroneOptID for high precision real-time data gathering.
The IRONMAN Texas Event with DroneShield's DroneSentry system
System Deployment
Rationale & Advantages
Silent detection does not disrupt spectator experience or obstruct the event
Wide variety of sensing methods to cover many possible threats
Modular versatility to quickly retrofit to a site for temporary coverage
Integration into pre-existing security equipment and procedures
Rationale & Advantages
Real-time, non-destructive intelligence on activity which requires further investigation
Integrates DroneShield and third-party sensor equipment
AI-enriched data such as Identifying payloads and predicting flightpaths
Visual confirmation can help personnel have confidence in unexpected detections