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Spy in the sky

Tested on the battlefield, now pilotless aircraft are joining the fight against crime. Sean Blair meets Little Brother

The next step in law enforcement is coming soon to a crime scene near you. A remote-controlled police eye in the sky is on patrol over one city, and if it passes its shakedown test, could soon enter service across Britain.

The basic idea isn't new. Flying drones – known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) – have been used on the battlefield a lot in recent years. From Kosovo to Iraq, military commanders have prized UAV's for their ability to deliver bird’s eye views of combat zones at zero risk to human personnel. Some have even been turned into killer robots: US Predator UAV's carry Hellfire anti-tank missiles.

Now this technology is being applied to British streets. The Microdrone MD4-200 UAV started trials in Liverpool in June, and police chiefs predict it could be in nationwide service in time for the 2012 Olympics. So should we be pleased or worried by this vertical extension of the long arm of the law?

Merseyside assistant chief constable Simon Byrne thinks it is going to make us happier. ‘People clamour for the feeling of safety cameras bring,’ he says.

But some people object to the device’s potential to erode privacy. Merseyside Police say it will be used to patrol over parks and public spaces, just the sort of places young people like to hang out.

Compared to the 8.14m Predator, the German-built Microdrone is tiny. One metre long, it weighs in at under a kilo, which helpfully removes the need for clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority. It is officially classed as a toy. It certainly resembles a radio-controlled model, but its innards are much more sophisticated. Kept aloft by four fast-spinning rotor blades for a maximum of 20 minutes, the drone has been engineered to fly itself when required. It can also perform an automatic emergency landing if it runs low on battery power or loses radio contact with its human controller.

Automatic pilot

What makes this possible is the compact Altitude, Attitude and Heading Reference System (AAHRS) packed into its core. This is made up of sensors – directional gyroscopes, accelerometers to measure speed changes, and other monitors to check air pressure, temperature and humidity. This combination keeps the Microdrone updated on its height, speed and inclination. It can also be supplemented by a GPS system so it can be sent along pre-chosen patrol routes at its modest maximum speed of 15mph (24km/h). It even has its own ‘black box’ – an onboard smart card that records all details of a flight for later analysis.

The closest the Microdrone comes to offensive weaponry is an optional loudspeaker to inform wrongdoers they are being watched. If criminals try to attack it, the drone can retreat up to 500m high. And even if someone gets lucky with a stone, the drone could still limp home with half its rotors out of action.

The drone’s central body can house a range of cameras depending on police needs – including video and still cameras capable of discerning faces from up to 55m away, plus infrared imagers for night operations. Depending on its payload, it may cost up to £15,000.

‘Other uses may include monitoring public disorder, crowd control during large scale events and traffic congestion,’ says Byrne.

‘We’re also looking at its potential during firearm operations. For us this is a cost-effective way of helping to catch criminals and supports similar technology we use in our CCTV vans and helicopters.’

The drone’s near-silent engines mean it should be able to unobtrusively approach a crime scene. The question is how the British public will react to being watched by what has been dubbed ‘Little Brother’. Will it be shrugged off as just one more camera among many, or might the midget spycraft end up being regarded as an intrusion too far?

One way or another, it does look like civilian UAV's are here to stay. In the US the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has been using a drone called SkySeer since last year.

Other UAV models are also being used to guard borders, monitor high value crops and assist firefighters combating forest blazes.

Constant watch

The ultimate aim is to build a UAV capable of staying in the air permanently, making it a low-budget alternative to satellites.

US space agency NASA demonstrated the concept with a solar-powered stratospheric aircraft called Helios, but it plunged into the Pacific in 2003.

British firm QinetiQ has been working on its own version. The Zephyr UAV has solar panels covering its 16m-long wings. So far the 30kg craft has flown for 18 hours at a time, operating entirely on solar power during the daytime then switching to rechargeable batteries at night.

There is still a long way to go, but such ‘eternal planes’ may one day become commonplace, and the skies could contain more flying robots than manned aircraft.