Police departments could soon have easier access to airborne drones: report
• rawstory.comThe Federal Aviation Administration next month could make it easier for
police departments to obtain and use airborne surveillance drones,
according to a report (PDF) by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The federal government has held up the domestic use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) out of concern for the safety of U.S. airspace. The use of UAVs have been mostly limited to the U.S.-Mexico border and in war-zones outside the country.
But pressure is going on the FAA to make it easier for law
enforcement agencies to gain permission to use UAVs. “Proposed
legislation would require the FAA to grant permits more quickly and
allow broader use of the technology by 2015,” the ACLU report states.
“Meanwhile, amid the mounting pressure, the FAA is planning to create a
more permissive approval system for commercial UAV operations, which
have been severely restricted until now.”
There are hundreds of different models of UAVs, from large fixed-wing
aircraft to a tiny drone called the Nano Hummingbird (pictured above).
The drones employ a wide range of surveillance technology as well,
including high-power zoom lenses, infrared and ultraviolet imaging,
see-through imaging and video analytics. Some drones are also large
enough to be fitted with weapons.
