Drones have moved from novelty to routine in a decade. Ground robots are roughly where drones were in 2015. The operational questions now are less about capability and more about program management: who flies, under what authority, and what happens to the footage.
The first-arriving officer works from a 360 on foot. Roof conditions, rear exposures and the extent of a fire in a large-footprint building stay unknown during the decisions that matter most.
Void spaces, collapse and below-grade rescue all require committing a person to characterise the space before anyone can plan.
Docked aircraft that launch on dispatch, fly to the incident and stream without a pilot at the scene.
Why it matters
Technically working today. The constraint is regulatory — beyond visual line of sight authority — and it is loosening. Departments that understand the waiver process now will move first.