Don’t Call them Drones – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Systems or Light Unmanned Aerials Vehicles and their Role in Civil Public Safety.

October 2012 – “Don’t Call them Drones – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Systems or Light Unmanned Aerials Vehicles and their Role in Civil Public Safety.”

Lt. Chad Gann of the Arlington, Texas Police provided an overview of the potential and current status of the use of unmanned systems in civil public safety. Gann was quick to point out the distinction between military systems and the smaller, unarmed, lightweight systems being evaluated for law enforcement and emergency services use. Misperceptions of the capabilities of civil systems have contributed to a contentious or even hostile reception in many locales.
Lt. Gann also summarized the extensive testing of these systems by the Arlington, Texas, and the numerous technical and regulatory challenges facing their use and further development.