Our mission is to drive technological advancements to improve emergency response practices and influence innovation across public safety for the communities they serve.
Formed in 2014, the Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE) serves as the research and development arm of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC). With over 260 years of combined experience in public safety, the CoE team is committed to driving technological advancements to improve emergency response practices and influence innovation across public safety for the communities they serve. We accomplish this mission through various focus areas, including real-time location services, spatial technologies, robotics, and aviation technologies among others.
The public safety sector has a significant shortage of time and resources dedicated to research and development (R&D). Traditionally, R&D initiatives are assigned as additional tasks to firefighters and law enforcement officers. However, the main focus of first responders is to maintain the safety of the communities they serve, not to develop new technologies.
This is what makes the CoE unique. With 16 full-time staff members (and growing), we have the time and talent, and appropriate budget, to look at what public safety could be and the tools, knowledge, and resources to look at the future of emergency response.
A core initiative for the CoE is the Colorado Team Awareness Kit, commonly known as COTAK™. COTAK is a free state-wide service, developed by the CoE, that delivers real-time location information and other mission-critical data to the hands of first responders via their mobile device. It is the operating system for the pocket of an emergency responder.
By utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) information, COTAK enables first responders to locate themselves, their team members, and other enrolled agency personnel in real time, enhancing situational awareness, team coordination, and safety. The COTAK service is available at no cost to all public safety agencies in Colorado.
The CoE also explores opportunities with robotic technologies. Our research explores the cost-effectiveness and mobility these advanced systems can offer public safety agencies across the board. Current research includes applications for locating wildfire hotspots, delivering essential equipment to first responders, and more.
In addition to evaluating robotics equipment, the CoE manages the Colorado Department of Public Safety’s (CDPS) drone certification program. This program trains public safety personnel to operate drones safely and professionally in various public safety operations and is the required certification for all CDPS personnel to operate drones. To date, the CoE has completed over 250 flight certifications with over 150 certified CDPS pilots.
Aviation is a challenging environment both from a risk perspective as well as a regulatory standpoint. While aircraft can travel at speeds many times the speed of sound, change in aviation happens at a snail’s pace, but the CoE has staff focused on discovering, researching and developing opportunities to better enable public safety in their use of piloted aviation. These projects are focused on equipment, procedures, administration, policy, and regulation.