Redefining Facility Safety:
Semi-Autonomous iDFR Drones for Threat Response

Strategic Technology Partnership:

Pinnacle Consulting & Advisors + Brecourt Solutions

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In every building across the country, we’ve normalized fire suppression systems, smoke alarms, sprinklers, and evacuation plans. These are not optional, they are code-mandated and widely accepted as critical life-safety infrastructure. Yet while fire events are statistically rare, we’ve embraced the systems that detect, respond to, and suppress fire automatically, even in our smallest offices and public spaces.

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Now consider this: What equivalent protections exist for violent threats like an active shooter? The uncomfortable answer is, very few.

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Most facilities still rely on passive surveillance where cameras record but do not act, locked doors, and manual notifications to try and stop an armed attacker. Analytics by themselves must first be able identify the threat, operators must then validate the threat and only then begin a notification process for response. Security guards or law enforcement are alerted only once a threat is already occurring. In too many cases, there is no direct, immediate intervention during the most critical moments when a weapon is brandished, a shot is fired, or an attacker is on the move.

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That’s where the Brecourt Solutions High Threat Response System (HTRS) and Pinnacle Consulting & Advisors change the equation.

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Unlike traditional drones, which often depend on GPS signals and manual piloting to operate, especially in outdoor, open-air environments, Brecourt’s Close Quarters Drone (CQD) is designed from the ground up by military and first responders with real world experiences for indoor, GPS-denied environments. Schools, office buildings, event spaces, and similar facilities typically block or degrade GPS signals. Most conventional drones will either fail to fly, lose positional stability, or be unsafe to operate in these environments.

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Brecourt’s drone platform overcomes this limitation with advanced onboard navigation sensors and visual-inertial localization, allowing it to fly semi-autonomously in hallways, rooms, stairwells, and confined structures with no need for GPS signals or external beacons. This makes it uniquely suited for real-world deployment in the places where most critical incidents actually happen—inside buildings.

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Another major advantage: conventional drones require a trained pilot and often a spotter to launch, operate, and navigate. That means pulling personnel away from other critical tasks. With Brecourt’s system, the drone can launch instantly in response to the identification and validation of a threat and immediately begin scanning the area for further threat identification and mitigation efforts.  The drone can hover and uses onboard AI to continue the search for threats within its visual range. All of this can be controlled by a remote pilot at a separate operations center or site-based operators to manage flight operations and, if necessary, interfere with the attacker using non-lethal disorienting measures.

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This allows law enforcement and security teams to stay focused on incident containment and life-saving efforts, using the drone as a force multiplier to gather real-time intelligence, improve situational awareness, and buy critical time to stop the threat and render aid. In effect, Brecourt’s system becomes the first arrival on scene, one that never hesitates, never flinches, and always reports back.

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 At the heart of this system is a semi-autonomous, indoor-capable drone platform designed to rapidly respond to threats inside a facility. The Close Quarters Drone (CQD) platform works in tandem with AI-powered analytics and real-time operator oversight. The iDFR CQD utilizes:  ​

• Semi-autonomous and full manual control options are fully available at this time and can be managed and controlled depending on operator preference and environment.

  • Fully autonomous deployment is in the final stages of development and when available this operational ability will greatly increase arrival times of the drone to a critical event or other need.​

• GPS-denied operations – perfect for indoor environments where speed to an incident is critical and other where drone systems demand too many resources or outright fail.

  • Unlike other drone systems that claim functionality in GPS denied environments that require significant use of personnel to operate, the Brecourt Drone has a unique set of onboard custom analytics that have been developed to significantly reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for constant operator input and assist with flight operations in confined, complicated and other environments.

• Non-lethal countermeasures to disrupt the attacker and slow down their actions.

• Real-time visual intelligence streamed to security teams or command posts.

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Pinnacle Consulting & Advisors is proud to serve as a strategic partner in delivering this technology to organizations looking for more than just a camera and more than just a drone. This is a practical, scalable tool for real-world threats, and we're helping agencies design the right combination of analytics, policies, and deployment strategies to maximize its impact.

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Why This System Matters

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Security and law enforcement teams today face a relentless burden:

• Weaponized threats emerge in public spaces with little or no warning.

• The first few seconds of an incident are often the most deadly.

• Manual dispatch and camera review are too slow to detect and fail to effectively stop a threat before harm is done.

• Most facilities are wide open once an intruder passes the outer perimeter.

• Traditional security measures can be compromised during the incident, rendering static plans ineffective.

 

The Brecourt drone changes that timeline. By integrating smart detection systems and semi-autonomous flight, the drone can arrive at the threat before security teams can, feeding back critical footage, mapping the environment, and even interfering with the attacker’s ability to carry out their plan.

Think of it as the equivalent of a smoke detector that doesn’t just alert you to danger, it actively moves toward it, relays intelligence, and intervenes long enough to give responders an edge.

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How It Works: Semi-Autonomous, Adaptable, Effective

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The system can be set up to automatically deploy when connected video analytics detect the visual presence of a firearm or dangerous item. The system can also be launched manually.  This tool is designed so that there is always a human tasked with oversight on these operations but once triggered, the drone launches immediately, no onsite pilot is needed and navigates to the area of concern using onboard sensors while scanning for threats. 

• Phase 1: Detection – Integrated video analytics or manual operator input identifies a threat.

• Phase 2: Deployment – The drone launches autonomously and enters a scanning mode, using onboard AI to search for the threat within the visual range of the drone system.

• Phase 3: Disruption – Currently, a remote pilot from an operations center or on site can take control and assist with safely navigating the drone through the facility to acquire the threat, stream live video to other responders, and employ non-lethal tactics to deter the attacker or assist with mitigation of the incident.

• Phase 4: Support – The drone can provide surveillance under pilot control until the incident concludes.

 

All of this can happen within seconds of a verified threat, even in buildings with no GPS signal.

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How Pinnacle Consulting & Advisors Helps

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Pinnacle Consulting & Advisors doesn’t just introduce new tools, we work directly with our partners and clients to build custom, site-specific deployment plans. Our role includes:

• Threat assessments and vulnerability reviews.

• Camera system audits and analytics planning.

• Integration of Brecourt drone systems into existing operations.

• Training, SOP development, and after-action process design.

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We recognize that every site is different, and each requires a tailored approach to maximize the value of this technology.

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Be Part of What’s Next

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The current system that is available is the CQD and Brecourt is in the process of developing the semi-autonomous drone package along with the ability to fly outdoors as well.

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We are currently seeking agencies, departments, and facility managers interested in:

• Pilot deployments.

• Real-world feedback for system development.

• Innovation partnerships to shape how these drones function in your environment.

• Launching soon is an Early Access Program for this system that is controllable from a Security Operations Center (SOC) via very low latency connections. It will deliver instant on-scene video, integrate with existing camera detections, and improve safety by verifying threats before personnel enter. We are looking to connect with a small number of remote guarding firms, security guard companies, and SOC-driven organizations that are open to piloting this capability.

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Whether you are law enforcement, a school administrator, private security manager, or responsible for a high-risk property, this is your opportunity to be part of a proactive shift in threat management.

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Contact Us Today

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Let’s explore how this technology can enhance your site’s safety protocols and give your teams more time, more control, and more confidence in critical incidents.