Air Boeg!
(cut & pasted from http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=267 )
Drones over Los Angeles Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 9:39 am
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has started last week to test unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These small drones, which look like toys, weigh about 5 pounds and are equipped with a GPS device and a camera. They'll complement the helicopters of the department where it's too dangerous to go. These drones can fly at speeds up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour for 70 minutes and cost between 25,000 and 30,000 dollars. They could even replace conventional surveillance aircrafts within ten years — and check from the sky what's happening in your garden. But read more…
Let's start with how the AFP summarizes the missions assigned to these drones.
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."
This drone has been designed by Octatron, Inc. and is called the SkySeer. And why this drone will be useful? Because it's light and can go — almost — everywhere.
The SkySeer would also be a helpful tool to nab burglary suspects on rooftops and to chase down suspects fleeing on foot. The plane collapses and can fit into a shoulder pack smaller than a golf bag. Its portability and ease of assembly could be a big advantage for law enforcement. "It's basically a high-tech kite that field officers could set up in a matter of minutes," said Heal.
For more technical information about this drone, you can check its characteristics or read this brochure (PDF format, 2 pages, 1.51 MB) from which the image above has been extracted.
And what is the future for such drones? Pretty bright, according to the AFP.
Unmanned surveillance crafts may become the norm in urban policing, says Heal. "Who knew five years ago we would be shooting photos and video with our phones?" he said. "I could see this drone technology replacing some demand for conventional aircrafts 10 years into the future."
Of course, such invisible surveillance tools are not welcome by everybody.
Though the SkySeer is not capable of spying into windows just yet, for some a future of nearly invisible eyes in the sky is an unsettling introduction of science fiction into daily life. "A helicopter can be seen and heard, and one can make behavior choices based on that," said Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. "Do we really want to live in a society where our backyard barbeques will be open to police scrutiny?"
But this kind of surveillance already exists. This is just an additional tool for police departments or armed forces. So this kind of tool has probably a bright future.
=============================================
Here is the brochure. For the plane with lots of details about it.
http://www.octatron.com/Downloads/Literature/skyseer_press.pdf
Here are some specifications:
=============================================
Description
The SkySeerTM is a low cost, autonomous reconnaissance UAV that can be easily carried without supporting vehicles.
Features
Combining a small footprint and autonomous flight, SkySeerTM is the preferred UAV for short-range reconnaissance and monitoring operations. (Patent pending on SkySeerTM).
Aircraft
Very low platform cost
Light and small, easily carried by one person
Quiet yet powerful electric motor
GPS-guided autonomous flight, take-off, and landing
Remote-controlled pan/tilt camera head
Day and night operation, with optional thermal camera
Color or high resolution b/w camera
Lightweight groundstation
Ground station
USB, FireWire and Card Reader
User-friendly ground station control software
10/100 Ethernet
Daylight readable LCD touchscreen
Integrated antennas
Analog video output
Dual UAV battery charger
UAV pan/tilt joystick
Specifications
Aircraft
Wingspan 6.5ft (1.98m)
Total weight 3.125 lbs (1.42kg)
Endurance 45-60 minutes at cruise speed
Cruise Speed 23 mph (37 kph)
Range 2 mi (3.2km) (extensible via Octatron, Inc.) NetWeaverTM
Pan/Tilt 160° pan / 90° tilt
Ground station
Display Bright, daylight readable LCD touchscreen (750+nits)
Total weight 20 lbs
Typical power consumption 60W (excluding battery chargers)
Input voltage 12-30 VDC (Automotive power compatible)
Battery charging station Charges two UAV battery packs simultaneously (Packs charge to 80% in 2 hours)
Analog video output Output realtime and recorded UAV video to a standard monitor
Digital video Store up to 20 hours of high quality MPEG-2 video
Copy recorded video to DVD or Flash media
USB and FireWire (IEEE1394) interface
JPEG snapshots
Real-time flight video and telemetry See and record what the UAV sees in real-time
Video head Real-time joystick control of UAV pan/tilt camera head
Autonomous flight Point and click mission planning via GPS waypoints.
Automatic take-off and landing
(cut & pasted from http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=267 )
Drones over Los Angeles Posted by Roland Piquepaille @ 9:39 am
Digg This!
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has started last week to test unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These small drones, which look like toys, weigh about 5 pounds and are equipped with a GPS device and a camera. They'll complement the helicopters of the department where it's too dangerous to go. These drones can fly at speeds up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour for 70 minutes and cost between 25,000 and 30,000 dollars. They could even replace conventional surveillance aircrafts within ten years — and check from the sky what's happening in your garden. But read more…
Let's start with how the AFP summarizes the missions assigned to these drones.
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."
This drone has been designed by Octatron, Inc. and is called the SkySeer. And why this drone will be useful? Because it's light and can go — almost — everywhere.
The SkySeer would also be a helpful tool to nab burglary suspects on rooftops and to chase down suspects fleeing on foot. The plane collapses and can fit into a shoulder pack smaller than a golf bag. Its portability and ease of assembly could be a big advantage for law enforcement. "It's basically a high-tech kite that field officers could set up in a matter of minutes," said Heal.
For more technical information about this drone, you can check its characteristics or read this brochure (PDF format, 2 pages, 1.51 MB) from which the image above has been extracted.
And what is the future for such drones? Pretty bright, according to the AFP.
Unmanned surveillance crafts may become the norm in urban policing, says Heal. "Who knew five years ago we would be shooting photos and video with our phones?" he said. "I could see this drone technology replacing some demand for conventional aircrafts 10 years into the future."
Of course, such invisible surveillance tools are not welcome by everybody.
Though the SkySeer is not capable of spying into windows just yet, for some a future of nearly invisible eyes in the sky is an unsettling introduction of science fiction into daily life. "A helicopter can be seen and heard, and one can make behavior choices based on that," said Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. "Do we really want to live in a society where our backyard barbeques will be open to police scrutiny?"
But this kind of surveillance already exists. This is just an additional tool for police departments or armed forces. So this kind of tool has probably a bright future.
=============================================
Here is the brochure. For the plane with lots of details about it.
http://www.octatron.com/Downloads/Literature/skyseer_press.pdf
Here are some specifications:
=============================================
Description
The SkySeerTM is a low cost, autonomous reconnaissance UAV that can be easily carried without supporting vehicles.
Features
Combining a small footprint and autonomous flight, SkySeerTM is the preferred UAV for short-range reconnaissance and monitoring operations. (Patent pending on SkySeerTM).
Aircraft
Very low platform cost
Light and small, easily carried by one person
Quiet yet powerful electric motor
GPS-guided autonomous flight, take-off, and landing
Remote-controlled pan/tilt camera head
Day and night operation, with optional thermal camera
Color or high resolution b/w camera
Lightweight groundstation
Ground station
USB, FireWire and Card Reader
User-friendly ground station control software
10/100 Ethernet
Daylight readable LCD touchscreen
Integrated antennas
Analog video output
Dual UAV battery charger
UAV pan/tilt joystick
Specifications
Aircraft
Wingspan 6.5ft (1.98m)
Total weight 3.125 lbs (1.42kg)
Endurance 45-60 minutes at cruise speed
Cruise Speed 23 mph (37 kph)
Range 2 mi (3.2km) (extensible via Octatron, Inc.) NetWeaverTM
Pan/Tilt 160° pan / 90° tilt
Ground station
Display Bright, daylight readable LCD touchscreen (750+nits)
Total weight 20 lbs
Typical power consumption 60W (excluding battery chargers)
Input voltage 12-30 VDC (Automotive power compatible)
Battery charging station Charges two UAV battery packs simultaneously (Packs charge to 80% in 2 hours)
Analog video output Output realtime and recorded UAV video to a standard monitor
Digital video Store up to 20 hours of high quality MPEG-2 video
Copy recorded video to DVD or Flash media
USB and FireWire (IEEE1394) interface
JPEG snapshots
Real-time flight video and telemetry See and record what the UAV sees in real-time
Video head Real-time joystick control of UAV pan/tilt camera head
Autonomous flight Point and click mission planning via GPS waypoints.
Automatic take-off and landing
