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Police Launch Drones Over LA
An anonymous reader writes "Yahoo! News is reporting that law enforcement officials have launched a new form of drone aircraft to patrol the skies above Los Angeles. From the article: 'Police say the drone, called the SkySeer, will be able to accomplish tasks too dangerous for officers and free up helicopters for other missions. "This technology could be used to find missing children, search for lost hikers, or survey a fire zone," said Commander Sid Heal, head of the Technology Exploration Project of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "The ideal outcome for us is when this technology becomes instrumental in saving lives."'"
Here is a link to the SkySeer product on the manufacturer's web page that includes a photo of the device (looks like a model airplane): http://www.octatron.com/Products/SKS.html
Well, get yourself a GPS Jammer.
You can bweak the Man's widdow pwane!!!
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
Per AOPA, LA Sheriff's department agrees the tiny RC-sized planes are subject to existing FAA rules, including uncontrolled airspace, which would make it pretty hard to actually fly in LA. It makes a nice story for some ambitious tech captain but I doubt there will be any impact on crime or privacy (modulo slippery-slope). See the AOPA site: http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060609 uav.html>
BBC has pictures http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5051142.stm
Xeni Jardin (of BoingBoing and NPR fame) reported on this a few months ago. The pictures of the plane are good, but the control equipment is even more so.
"Eavesdrop", not "ease drop". I'm no spelling fascist but that one tripped me up a little bit so I figured I'd help everyone else out.
I make websites and stuff. Buy one.
Not quite:
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/060609 uav.html
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) was reportedly evaluating a 4-pound UAV for surveillance use over the sprawling L.A. Basin, which also happens to be some of the busiest airspace in the world. Members were rightly concerned about the risk of a midair collision with the small, radio-controlled aircraft.
AOPA staff promptly raised the issue with the FAA. Not only did that action make sure that a mini-UAV wouldn't be sharing L.A.'s airspace with GA pilots, it will also lead to a better policy controlling UAVs nationwide.
The FAA made it clear to the LASD that as a public operator, it would need a certificate of authorization (COA) and an experimental airworthiness certificate before it could fly a UAV, regardless of size, in the National Airspace System. (National airspace includes Class G, uncontrolled airspace.) Those are the same rules that apply to the larger UAVs being flown by the military and Department of Homeland Security.
Public and commercial operators aren't flying UAVs for "recreational purposes," so they are not permitted to fly remotely piloted aircraft under the provisions of the FAA's radio-controller modeler's advisory circular.
According to AOPA's FAA sources, the LASD reassured the agency that it will fully comply with all FAA regulations.
The female terrorist in The Satanic Verses wasn't a Muslim. Reflects badly on you to assume that only Muslims can be terrorists.
Sheriff Baca spends money on drones and a huge fleet of helicopters, and yet can't find the money to keep violent criminals in jail:
http://californiaccw.org/posts/list/149.page
and then when someone challenges him in the election, he gets pay-back:
http://californiaccw.org/posts/list/283.page
and now we're going to have drones flying around the city looking for... who knows?
Using a UAV to circumvent fences without a warrant is the same as using infrared cameras to circumvent fences without a warrant, which has gotten cases thrown out before.
Slow Down, Cowboy! It's been 60 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment.
"The "Protect & Serve" type of police..."
We don't have that kind here in LA.
While I agree that most things are fair game in public, that doesn't change the fact that it's just about impossible to live without leaving the privacy of your own home.
Exactly. There is a certain infrastructure that have been built around the notion of a modern society, and as citizens, we are, for all practical purposes, required to use it. What other practical options do you have, for example, than setting your weekly trash out for collection by a specialized service? By default, then, you are required to "make public" whatever waste you generate. Unfortunately, this also means that once this happens, it's fair game to anyone (including government).
I remember a local news story about someone who had been the target of an investigation, which included the information gathered from DNA tests performed on leftover residue on materials that were located in this persons' trash. So, merely by throwing something away, under current law, you are implicitly granting permission for people to find out all manner of information about you. I personally do not believe that it should work this way, the same way I do not believe that being "in public" implicitly grants the government permission to surveil you.
What's the difference between a cop driving down the street (or using a helicopter) and observing a crime in progress and a cop sitting being the controls of a UAV and observing a crime in progress? One also has to ask what's the difference between obtaining a subpoena to discover the contents of an ATM camera and obtaining the warrante to surveil an area with a UAV? The courts would be involved in the process in some fashion.
Because, with an aerial vehicle, cops don't need warrants.
Do they need a warrant and/or probable cause? Nope. Surveillance from the air does not require a warrant.
Aircraft are regulated by the FAA.
This activity on Los Angeles' part got the attention of a certain pilot's association which apparently put lots of ice on the project.
So it doesn't appear to be flying anywhere above LA County anytime soon...
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Screw the gravgun, you can smash 'em with ordinary cardboard boxes. Pick one up and flail it about. That was the first enemy I killed in HL2 before I had anything resembling a weapon.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
You know, of all the science fiction stories that I'd hope would come true, Dark Angel wasn't one of them. As I recall from that series, the aerial drones were being outfitted with guns to preform assassinations. The populas never suspected because they had grown used to seeing the drones flying about, doing surveillance. I've always wondered if that series was canceled because it hit too close to home. On the other hand, the second season sucked.
Request a Linux Shockwave player here: http://www.macromedia.com/support/email/wishform/
Your comments suggest that you have little or no actual flight experience.
The two most dangerous periods of a flight are the take-off and landing phases and your velocity is generally higher than "standing still". You may start out a 0 kts but you'll rotate at anywhere between 60-150 kts and land about the same. Remember, that "big bird" may not have been any where near the runway environment when you began your take-off roll or final approach. At 150 kts it's pretty darned hard to see a "big bird" particularly if approaching it head on or from the rear. The potential for drone v. piloted aircraft mishaps is very real unless the drone operators maintain keen situational awareness of the position of their UAV with respect to other aircraft. Will they be more intent on following the suspect or finding the kid than keeping clear of other aircraft? What about the whole "set it and forget it" mindset of the semi-autonomous mode of operation? This is a valid safety issue and your ad hominem attacks do not serve anyone well.
Probably cannot seee & avoid, but the FAA has made it clear there will be no TFRs, the aircraft will not fly in controlled airspace, they will need airworthiness certificates, and the cops will need a certificate of authorization for the flights. I have already emailed the LA FSDO to ask if the airworthiness certificate and CoA were issued before the test flight.
FYI: "Bullshit" is Penn and Teller's program on Showtime where they often do mock experiments to make their point.
Define "Maximum effective range". However, since you don't know about the increased range availability from shotgun sabot rounds, I would tend to think you most likely don't live in a firearms-friendly location.
I think you missed the part about "point target accuracy" - which is 75 meters. Area target accuracy ist about 150 meters. The 300 meters "maximum effective range" means that it will still be able to injure a person at that range, if you're lucky enough to score a hit.