Houston Police Test Unmanned Surveillance Aircraft

54mc writes "The Houston Police Department was filmed testing an unmanned aircraft in a secretive gathering on Wednesday. The media were not allowed into the event; however they were told that the aircraft would be used for 'mobility' and 'tactical' issues, and possibly even for writing traffic tickets. The aircraft has a wingspan of 10 feet and is said to cost from $30K to $1M. Pictures and video are available at the link." The article mentions that the craft was being operated by staff from a private firm called Insitu, Inc.. The device in the video looks like the firm's ScanEagle.

Comments

Re:I know the perfect defence

[BlueMerle]

Speeding is not the only traffic offence, and it is also one of the least likely to be dangerous.

Disclaimer: I am a speeder. A safe speeder, though, who respects the weather, the vehicle's and road's capabilities, and other drivers.

Emphasis Mine!

You sir, are a fool and will kill someone some day! You're only fooling yourself!

The price

[Anonymous Coward]

Several posters have commented that the price spread is between 30k and 1 M. A quick visit to the company's web site makes it fairly clear that these drones come with a wide range of electronics. The more electronics you stuff into them, the more they cost.

They've been making and selling these for years and know darn well what they cost.

The company's capabilities are impressive. One of their first products flew across the Atlantic, in 27 hours using 1.5 gallons of gas. Any model plane builder I know would have real trouble doing the same. ;-)

Several other posters have complained about the cost. A typical remark concerns how many traffic tickets it takes to pay for the drone. At 30k, the drone costs less than a fully equipped patrol car.

Re:I know the perfect defence

[Earered]

Except that there is more accident on the autobahn without speed limits than on those with speed limits.
There is roughly half of the autobahn with speed limits, and two third of the accident occurs in section with speed limits.[1]
This has to be considered with knowing that the speed limits in place for the autobahn are in places supposed to be more dangerous.

Also, variable speed limits are to be seriously considered with traffic (if you're alone, go ahead break the speed, when there is someone else, though it's a different matter).[2]

What might spread the legend, is that highway in Europe (except maybe UK, and I do not know how it is for the rest of the world) are safer, in every possible ways (per road trip, per kilometer), than other roads (especially city roads).

So an highway without speed limits, the autobahn, is safer than pretty much every other roads, except highway with speed limits.

Though, be aware that even in Europe, the autobahn is often used as a point without mentioning its accident rate compared to other european highway with speed limits, but instead compared to the national rates.

[1]http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,2201624,00.html
[2]http://www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov/its/benecost.nsf/Print/5F01DD9F62A2282C8525733A006D4BEA

Re:I know the perfect defence

[Just Another Perl Ha]

Another thing is, if everyone is going 15 mph above the limit and there's one guy who insists on going exactly the limit, that person is creating a safety hazard as everyone tries to pass him. Which is ever so common if you've ever driven on a Houston freeway (just to bring things closer to being back on topic).

Re:Nothing to read here ...

[EricTheMad]

If they're remote controlled, there's always the possibility that someone will usurp control and you might end up with this? The largest of the planes used in the September 11th attacks was a 767-223ER. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 395,000lb, cruises at 568mph, and can carry up to 24,000 gallons of fuel.

The ScanEagle UAV has a maximum takeoff weight of 37.9lb, cruises at 56mph, and can carry up to 2 gallons of fuel. I think our buildings are safe.