“By use of Songbird 150, a fully automatic vertical take-off and landing system, an area of more than 700 football fields can be completely and very precisely captured for a 3D model in less than 90 minutes”, the Germandrones-expert Tetiana Kondratenko explains.
From 16th to 17th November 2022, the company Germandrones, part of the CONDOR Group and with its headquarters in Berlin, supported a reconstruction congress for students of the "National University of Life and Environmental Science" in Ukraine.
The European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative ESJF, funded by the European Commission, organised the event. Central goals of the ESJF are the protection and preservation of every Jewish cemetery in Europe.
“It was a great honour and a matter of course for us to support the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. Tetiana Kondratenko, both a drone expert and a Ukrainian, who has joined our team in Berlin since early 2022, attended this event”, Cornelius Toussaint, managing partner of the CONDOR-Group, pointed out.
The drone expert Tetiana Kondratenko shared her experience with the audience regarding the use of different drone types, software applications and operational procedures.
“Nowadays, drones are the most effective means of sustainably documenting destruction caused by violence or natural disasters that can be used in court. Thanks to our company flagship Songbird 150 and a Phase One 100 mega-pixel camera, we can take high-resolution pictures from an altitude of 100 metres with a resolution of up to 1.0 cm, even if we face challenging terrain and difficult environmental conditions.” Mrs. Kondratenko is convinced of the drone technology.
According to her, this performance profile is ideally suited for a comprehensible and justiciable data collection from the air about various locations. In the event of large-scale destruction, drones also enable a particularly fast documentation and evaluation of the damaged area as well as the available infrastructure (paths, roads) so that targeted, minimally invasive protection and rescue measures can be initiated. It is therefore not surprising that the Federal Armed Forces are also convinced of the Songbird's surveying capabilities. Since the middle of the year, two systems for air accident surveying have been in use there.
During the surveying of Jewish cemeteries, the ESJF has learned from the previous EU project that the use of drones plays an increasingly important role in the preservation of cultural assets. The current situation in Ukraine reveals the importance of preserving cultural assets as a source of identity, the European Commission's Offier for Anti-Semitism Katharina von Schnurbein commented.
“We are convinced that the preservation of cultural heritage is crucial for keeping the memory of the past alive, learning for the future, and also, in the times of conflict, support recovery”, von Schnurbein explained.
The Executive Director of the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, Philip Carmel, concluded by emphasising that “our cooperation with Germandrones has enabled us to conduct the widest ever survey of Jewish cemeteries in the communities destroyed in the Holocaust. The development of this technology is a major contribution to the preservation of heritage and will have profound effects particular in areas hit by devastation and war, as currently in Ukraine. Preservation of the historical record, enabled by drone surveys, is the first and key step, to long-term physical preservation and regeneration”.
Background Information about CONDOR-Group:
Since 1978, CONDOR has provided protection and security from its headquarters in Essen. Approximately 900 employees at 15 locations throughout Germany and abroad ensure security for private individuals, business customers, public institutions and in critical infrastructure.
All over Germany, CONDOR is pre-qualified to provide security for Deutsche Bahn AG rail construction sites. In this field, CONDOR additionally works for a large number of railway infrastructure companies in Germany and other European countries.
In Essen alone, the business unit “Protection and Security” takes care of more than 6,000 alarm, GPS and video customers 24 hours / 365 days a year via the local emergency call and service control centre approved by VdS Schadenverhütung.
In addition to maritime security services for maritime shipping and ports, CONDOR's business unit “Aviation” is responsible for passenger, baggage and cargo control as well as for the airport infrastructure security at various airports and locations in Germany (§§ 5, 8 and 9 LuftSiG).
Moreover, CONDOR is a leader in the field of UAV technology (drones) which comprises the training of pilots, the execution of flight orders as well as the distribution of hardware and software. In addition to classic copter systems, CONDOR offers both 24/7 security drones and VTOL systems for route and area monitoring respectively inspection.
According to its mission, the CONDOR-Group supports its customers by protecting people, freight or energy, by transporting them safely and smoothly and by ensuring the necessary communication. This includes risk analyses as well as the joint stipulation of measures to be implemented.
Since 1984, the Toussaint family has represented the CONDOR-Group as its shareholders and managing directors. Stephan and Cornelius Toussaint as active managing associates have been running the company in the second generation since 1997.
For further information please refer to: www.condor-sicherheit.de
Further information about UAV / Robotics: www.condor-solutions.de
Further information about BOS-UAV / surveying: www.condor-drones.de
Further information about VTOL-Songbird: www.germandrones.com
Further information about UAV / training: www.u-rob.com
Further information about fixed barriers: www.spot-group.eu
Further information about GPS-tracking: www.eurotraffic.biz
Further information about international-security: www.gpc.ag
Contact Person:
Oliver Arning
Head of Corporate Communication
Ruhrtalstraße 81
45239 Essen
Tel. 0201 / 84 153-113
Fax 0201 / 84 153-151
E-Mail: service@condor-sicherheit.de
Web.: www.condor-sicherheit.de