Formula 1: Austin
The Formula One (F1) Grand Prix returned to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin as part of the 2023 racing schedule. Each F1 Grand Prix event is a multi-day affair, with practices, qualifying races, sprint races, and then the main race – 56 laps around a 5.513-kilometer circuit. Drones with cameras can provide exciting angles for fans and key information for race strategy. Equally, flying over the circuit during the race would certainly have caused major disruptions could have caused crashes.
DedroneFixedSite was deployed to provide drone detection, tracking, and identification (DTI) system to COTA security and law enforcement. As the facilities are quite large, a scalable solution was necessary.
Dedrone detected over 50 drone flights over the course of three days with 23 unique drones identified and routes logged for better insight into where drones were operating. Dedrone also provided security with a heat map of drone activity to help harden security as needed. There were no interruptions to racing at any point.
The Annual Formula One Grand Prix at COTA attracts over 400,000 people during the weekend. With the rapid rise in drone sales in recent years, airspace security is a top priority. Our mission is not only to protect our guests, teams, and staff from potential threats but also to ensure the safety of our airspace with helicopter transports in and out of the facility, as well as media helicopters. Dedrone's drone detection technology has proven instrumental in achieving this critical balance between security and seamless event operations.
Ryan Harder, Director, Safety and Security, Circuit of The Americas
