datron scout Continued from page 29 the tablet, you simply trace the route you want it to fly with a stylus and choose an altitude from a Google Earth-like map screen. Now, hit the launch button on the tablet and the little bird almost silently lifts off, flies the route at the designated altitude, returns to the take-off point and lands. During the flight, it transmits streaming video back to you. It can be instructed to hover at any point if something of special interest is observed and then told to continue. It’s almost like the pause button on your home DVR. We know this because we actually got to watch one flown at FMG’s “World Headquarters” in San Diego. Sure enough, the factory rep had it going in about 3 minutes, and it did exactly what it was advertised to do. It’s amazingly stable, and just plain fun to watch at work! enforcement package cost these days? Depending on the brand of aircraft,it’s easily on the tall side of $2 million. That doesn’t take into account the astronomical cost of fuel and maintenance of the aircraft, or the cost of training and paying pilots. Even considering your department could afford the cost, it may not be an appropriate platform for covert surveillance as part of an investigation or the exigent circumstance of a SWAT incident. Helicopters are easy to see and they make a bunch of racket. They’re big and usually carry at least two cops. Losing the cops or the helicopter to a wellplaced or extremely lucky shot just isn’t an option. Consider the Datron Scout can be purchased for around $90K. That’s a cost easily justified, especially when federal grants become available if the need can be articulated. The FAA is primarily concerned with the safe use of drones in the US. Carelessly deployed drones could literally crash your barbeque party or collide with other aircraft in already crowded skies. New rules about operating altitudes, failsafe measures and environments of use are expected very soon. The biggest threat to severely limiting law enforcement use of drones comes from civil-liberty groups. They’re worried about what they see as a greater danger: the specter of massive surveillance. Ryan Calo, director for privacy and robotics at the Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, said, “Any time you have a tool like that in the hands of law enforcement that makes it easier to do surveillance, they will do more of it.” A senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, Jay Stanley, says, “Drones raise the prospect of much more pervasive surveillance.” He continued, “We are not against them, absolutely. They can be valuable tools in certain kinds of operations. But what we don’t want to see is their pervasive use to watch over the American people.” Court testing of the Fourth Amendment issues involving drones is in its infancy. Expect to see a great deal more challenges once the use of drones becomes more prevalent. During my career, I’ve seen some really great laws lost as valuable tools, due to abuse. If we follow the Constitution and don’t get “too creative” with the use of drones, they could become one of the greatest surveillance tools we’ll possess since the invention of night vision devices. Concerns Failsafe There have been a few incidents around the country and overseas where drones — none involving the Datron Scout — have developed a mind of their own and went off their planned route. Mostly, these incidents have been caused by communications problems between the aircraft and the controller. Datron solved this issue by inserting a program in the aircraft itself. If the signal between the aircraft and its controller is lost or compromised, the imbedded program takes over and flies the aircraft back to the point of origin and lands. The Scout is not a C-19 heavy lift cargo aircraft, but they still use the term payload when talking about the different widgets you can attach to the aircraft body. The Scout comes with a standard 5-megapixel, daylight camera. You can add to that with a 10X-zoom video camera, or FLIR 320 or 640 thermal imagers. Custom payload systems can be developed with the assistance of Datron. The Scout can fly missions up to 1.86 miles from the controller or up to 20 minutes on one battery charge, depending on the payload and wind. A second battery is included and can be hot swapped once the aircraft has landed — that takes about 30 seconds. The Scout is 31.5x31.5" wide and 7.87" tall when fully assembled. It weighs 2.6 pounds. It’s capable of flying in a 31 mph wind at a maximum altitude of 1,640', from the altitude at which it’s launched. What does a moderately well equipped helicopter with a law Payload Capabilities Efficiencies 40 * For more info: (760) 597-1500, www. americancopmagazine.com/datron WWW.AMERICANCOPMAGAZINE.COM • OCTOBER2012
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