Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have been employed in a diversity of
applications. Mission requirements and vehicle’s operational environment will
largely influence the UAS design, payload, and flight envelope parameters. For
the purpose of this paper, the author has selected the law enforcement surveillance
applications of UAS. This research will identify the mission parameters,
requirements, and challenges. It will also point out some legal and ethical concerns
regarding UAS use for law enforcement. It will describe several suitable
platforms and discuss their specific features that make them particularly
advantageous for law enforcement missions.
Many law enforcement agencies use UAS on a daily basis. They are
used in many missions to include tactical operations, criminal pursuit and
crowd control. Their use has been expanded to include some non-conventional
missions such as forensics and traffic management and also the more
conventional rolls in search and rescue, and emergency services. This
particular paper will focus on UAS law enforcement surveillance missions. Law
enforcement surveillance can take place during suspect pursuits and property
observation. Law enforcement can also use UAS for covert surveillance missions
in order to collect evidence on suspected criminal or terrorist activity. The
main requirements for a police surveillance UAS include:
-
Sufficient endurance and range to remain on station for
an extended period of time, if required.
-
Easy launch and recovery capability to allow operations
from the unimproved fields and congested areas. Use of vertical take-off and
landing (VTOL) UAS platform may be preferred.
-
Quality camera sensor in order to produce high
definition video and still images for evidence.
-
Low noise propulsion system to allow for covert
surveillance missions if required.
-
Other sensors such as night vision, thermal, and
infrared can be used for night operations.
-
Rugged platform, which is capable of operating in the
adverse weather conditions, such as high winds and in both low and high
temperature environments.
-
Vehicle’s operational safety. Safety of the officers
and the civilians is the top priority. Choosing a reliable UAS platform will
ensure that the wellbeing of persons on the ground and their property will be
protected. It is important to incorporate safety and trouble-shooting features
into the UAS to alert the UAS operator of any malfunction (Aerion, 2011).
For the purpose of this mission the author has selected three UAS platforms
that can be used for police surveillance missions. The first UAS platform is
the Qube made by the AeroVironment (Figure 1). The Qube features an easy
control system and intuitive user interface. Weighting just 5.5 pounds, it is
small enough to be easily transported in a police car and quickly launched on
site (AeroVironment, n.d.). It
incorporates advanced sensors, such as a high definition video camera and a
thermal camera with zoom. This dual sensor suit will allow the UAS to acquire
surveillance footage in both day and night conditions. The Qube has 40 minutes
endurance and over half a mile range, which makes it suitable for short range
surveillance operations (AeroVironment,
n.d.).
Figure 1. The AeroVironemnt Qube. Adapted from “Qube,” by the AeroVironment,
n.d. Copyright by AeroVironment.
The second vehicle is the Yuneec Typhoon H Pro UAS (Figure 2). It
features a high definition CGO3+ 4K camera with a gimbal and a powerful
real-time video transmitter, which is able to downlink video within a one-mile
range, making it useful for law enforcement surveillance (Yuneec, n.d.). One great
feature of this UAS is that in incorporates Intel® RealSense™ Technology, which
allows it to navigate in confined environments, detect and avoid obstacles,
while simultaneously following the operator (Homeland surveillance and
electronics [HSE], n.d.). The Typhoon also has several flight modes, which
can be preprogrammed before launch. These modes include journey, point of
interest, follow me, and return home. The Typhon is a six rotor VTOL UAS. For
additional safety, it can automatically switch to five rotor mode operations in
case of a single rotor failure. The disadvantage of this vehicle is its limited
range and restricted endurance. The battery on this UAS can only last around 25
minutes (Yuneec, n.d.).
Figure 2. The Typhoon with high definition camera. Adapted from “Typhoon
UAS,” by Yuneec, n.d. Copyright by Yuneec.
The third option for surveillance applications is the Aeryon SkyRanger
UAS. It has the longest endurance from all three represented vehicles. It is
capable of staying aloft for up to 50 minutes. The SkyRanger features intuitive
touchscreen interface and easy operation. It can be launched in the minutes’
notice and start simultaneously transmitting video and infrared imaging in
real-time. It also can operate in the adverse weather conditions, such as high
winds (up to 55 mph gusts) and extreme temperatures (-22F to 122 F) (Aerion, n.d.).
It features low-latency encrypted digital network, which enables simultaneous
video streaming to multiple devices. It has the ability to include geotags and
metadata along with images. The SkyRanger can operate beyond-line -of-sight
with up to 3.1-mile range, keeping law enforcement personnel out of direct
danger.
Figure 3. SkyRanger UAS. Adapted from “Aerion SkyRanger,” by
Aerion, n.d. Copyright by Aerion.
The main benefit of UAS applications for law enforcement
surveillance is keeping the law enforcement informed about criminal activity in
real-time while keeping the officers out of direct danger. The UAS will greatly
increase situational awareness and help prevent police ambushes. They can
provide valuable surveillance on suspect’s location and let the police know if
the person is armed. Law enforcement can benefit from the use of UAS for
evidence collection, by inspecting difficult to access areas, while remaining
undetected.
However, there are some issues with UAS use for surveillance that
need to be discussed. These include ethical, legal, and moral considerations. First
of all, police surveillance should take into consideration the citizens right
for privacy. It is important to consider the circumstances when and if the
warrant for evidence collection should be obtained prior to use of UAS. In some
urgent cases, such as criminal standoff, there is not enough time to obtain a
warrant. Therefore, in life-and death situations, police may choose to
immediately launch a UAS to obtain the footage on suspect’s location and
status.
UAS surveillance missions also can raise some ethical concerns. UAS
can operate at much lower altitudes than manned aircraft. The vehicles can descend
to window- level and record images inside of the person’s residence. Some UAS
may operate virtually undetected due to their quiet propulsion and small size.
All of these factors make people associate UAS with “spying” and cause concerns
and even avid protests from private citizens. Balancing ethical considerations
and legal aspects of the police surveillance is one of the major challenges law
enforcement has to currently deal with in the use of UAS.
It is interesting to note, that some citizens have would resort to
shooting down a police UAS if one overflew their property. According to a recent
poll, almost fifty percent of Americans believe that they have the "right
to destroy" a drone that flies over their property (Koebler, 2013). Approximately
two thirds of Americans are concerned that the law enforcement drones will invade
their privacy. Therefore, it is import to educate the general public on UAS
benefits in order to gain acceptance for this new technology among the
civilians.
At this time there is no lethally armed UAS used in law
enforcement. In 2015, North Dakota passed a law, which approved the use of
non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray on UAS (Reese, 2015). Although, lethally-armed
UAS are still quite a distant future in law enforcement, it is important to
consider the moral and ethical aspects of these kinds of missions.
Use of UAS in police surveillance applications can provide a
valuable insight on criminal and terrorist activity and ultimately prevent
crimes and save lives. UAS can offer a variety of benefits for law enforcement,
while preserving lives of officers operating on the front lines. However, it is
important to consider ethical, moral, and legal aspects of these types of
missions. Proper legal framework should be established to help guide UAS use
for surveillance. The general public should be educated on the benefits of UAS
to increase public acceptance and to help law enforcement to fully explore its
benefits of this emerging technology.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment