Sheriff to Test Drone for Crimefighting

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle SkySeer, an autonomous drone aircraft used for surveillance and reconnaissance for the military and law enforcement, is demonstrated Friday, June 16, 2006, in Redlands, Calif. In the months ahead, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will test an unmanned, remote-controlled surveillance plane. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (Damian Dovarganes - AP)

One drone costs $20,000 to $30,000. In contrast, a helicopter and the necessary fuel, maintenance and manpower cost millions.

The sheriff's helicopters are often involved in other calls and unavailable for emergency use. Helicopters also make so much noise that SWAT teams have been known to order them away because they interfered with ground communications.

In the past two years, the Sheriff's Department has teamed with Octatron Inc. of La Verne, Calif., to develop the SkySeer, a five-pound UAV powered by replaceable battery that lasts about 70 minutes. It has aluminum and nylon fabric wings atop a Kevlar fuselage.

With a top speed of just under 29 mph, the unmanned plane is too slow for car chases.

Equipped with an infrared sensor, it can operate at night to help find people lost in cold, mountainous areas. About 6 1/2 feet wide and almost 3 feet long, the plane can be folded easily into a tube small enough to fit in the back seat of a squad car.

Last week, sheriff's officials demonstrated the UAV in an abandoned field. A deputy on the ground adjusted coordinates on a laptop that beamed a signal to the plane's global positioning system. Soon, the drone was circling in a holding pattern. Another screen showed real-time, color images fed from above.

Landing proved tricky. As officials attempted to bring it down, the plane suddenly nose-dived into the ground and crashed.

"Everything works in the lab," Heal joked.