Department Seeks FAA Waiver To Fly

Thugs and criminals are going to have to look overhead, not just over their shoulders if the North Little Rock Police Department gets their way. The department is looking at Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, (UAVs) as a new surveillance tool, as Police Chief Danny Bradley makes up his mind whether to buy two specially outfitted helicopters from Rotomotion LLC of Charleston, SC.

The police department may receive federal funds to buy them if the Federal Aviation Administration issues a waiver,  according to the North Little Rock Times.

As ANN reported, the Arkansas police department is but the latest to look to UAVs as a crime-fighting solution. The FAA is currently working with police in Houston, TX and Miami, FL, using those departments as pilot programs to come up with operator training and flight regulations for law enforcement use of UAVs.

Rotomotion CEO Dennis D'Annunzio monitored the flights at Burns Park while a technician and test pilot Andrew Chong carried out the field tests of the miniature helicopters. The 35-pound helicopter rose silently and quickly to 75 feet, where it hovered motionless in place.

Controlled from a laptop and stabilized by an onboard GPS software system, the helicopter was controlled by a "ground control operator" who monitors its functions and observes the onboard video. The UAV helicopter can also be programmed for autonomous flight.

When in the operator-controlled function, the UAV craft stops and hovers in place when the operator takes their hand off the control -- a feature that makes the UAV  "pilot error proof," D’Annunzio said, due to its built-in autonomous flight software programs.

The UAV has a standard range of 2,400 feet from the operator. A five-mile radius can be added at a higher price.

One of the features of the craft is its ability to hover if it flies out of range, or automatically return to its take-off staging area. UAVs from Rotomotion can be flown from a laptop, or with a hand-held radio controller. The hand-held controller requires a six-day course to master, according to D'Annunzio, whereas the laptop-controlled method takes a day.

Police Chief Bradley said if the department gets the FAA waivers and other approvals, the city will consider purchasing two gas-powered units at an approximate cost of $130,000 to $150,000. The gas units can stay aloft for an hour can withstand 20 mph winds and can handle light rain better than the electric model.

Of the two, one will be outfitted with a camera with 21x magnification for daytime use, and the other will be outfitted with a thermal imaging camera for night use.

The after-hours UAV could be used for night searches, with its ability to show variations of temperatures between the water, ground and a human, Montgomery said.

Mayor Pat Hays was on hand for the demonstration, as was Electric Department Director Joe Gertsch -- who asked if the UAV could be used to survey power lines.

The benefits of the use of the UAVs are that they could send real time aerial views of a hostage crisis, or for close surveillance of sting operations, and that they would add a real element of safety, especially at night, said Sgt. Terry Kuykendall Police Department spokesman, for the North Little Rock Police Department.

FMI: www.nlrpolice.org, www.rotomotion.com/