Don't police helicopters usually have thermal / infrared cameras? There's very little chance this drone had an infrared camera, correct?
I'm thinking that the drone pilot just got lucky. Or he saw the man previously and then found out he was missing, then knew almost exactly where to look (complete speculation but more reasonable than the needle in a haystack scenario)
What is the max range on a reasonably priced drone these days (transmitter range or battery range)?
I am quite sure there are non commercial drones with the same technology for searching as police helicopters and I am also quite sure this technology will come down in price to where hobbyist and small businesses alike can afford them.
image processing becomes the next obstacle after range. It is still very possible to overlook your target when the drone is moving quickly through an area, but it could be made easier with image recognition software.
>Don't police helicopters usually have thermal / infrared cameras? There's very little chance this drone had an infrared camera, correct?
The one in question more than likely used a normal visual spectrum camera. Cheap, repurposed security board cameras or GoPros are the norm.
FLIR cameras are available[1], but they're very expensive, so, yes, it's very unlikely this guy was using thermal imaging.
>What is the max range on a reasonably priced drone these days (transmitter range or battery range)?
The answer is a solid "it depends." For a multirotor, your biggest limitation is battery capacity. 10-15 minutes of flight time would be above average.
As far as radio systems go, again, it depends on the frequencies and antennas being used. The most common systems use 2.4GHz for control and 5.8GHz for the video downlink. 1-2KM is pretty typical. A fixed wing with a 433MHz/1.3GHz system and directional antennas can potentially make 20-30KM flights. This is all with readily available equipment at fairly low cost.
Police aren't going to task a helicopter to find a missing person.
Not unless that person shot at or killed another officer.
The low cost of drones is going to make good things like this happen.
But it is also going to allow the law enforcement to track every person at a protest, figure out who they are and put them on a no-fly list or some other watch list. I am completely convinced drones will be used at the next DNC and RNC conventions for 2016.
> Police aren't going to task a helicopter to find a missing person.
Different country and circumstances but just out of curiosity, in London the police helicopter searches for missing people quite often https://twitter.com/MPSinthesky
I expect it differs from city to city, but the police will sometimes search for missing people with helicopters. It's not an across the board guaranteed no as ck2 seems to believe.
In the states they wouldn't. They would spend the first day trying to convince you not to bother them and refuse to take a missing person report for various reasons.
If it was a young child and someone directly witnessed some kind of "abduction" they would respond with an "Amber Alert" to make everyone else look for them.
The article said, "Search teams using dogs, helicopters and volunteers".
Aren't "search teams" usually police? And other than police who else would have dogs trained to track people?
"But it is also going to allow the law enforcement to track every person at a protest, figure out who they are and put them on a no-fly list or some other watch list. I am completely convinced drones will be used at the next DNC and RNC conventions for 2016."
The world is constantly changing. Laws will need to be put in place to limit this. More open government and more participation by people interesting in privacy rights in government would help dramatically.
I'm thinking that the drone pilot just got lucky. Or he saw the man previously and then found out he was missing, then knew almost exactly where to look (complete speculation but more reasonable than the needle in a haystack scenario)
What is the max range on a reasonably priced drone these days (transmitter range or battery range)?