High above a site of distress, a black figure gracefully glides through the air like an eagle in full extension.
The chaos ensuing below is now taking place under the eagle eye of this UFO like object. Emergency teams receive video from the object and are now ready to execute a plan that will end the madness.
This object is a drone.
“Every agency has to stay current with technology,” said Capt. Angelo Nieves of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
With an increase in the number of police departments utilizing drones, the University of Central Florida may look to use them as well.
The specific name of the drone is the Draganflyer X6. NexGen, a company that has worked with organization such as the United States Air Force in the past, creates these drones. Each Draganflyer costs $25,000, but this price tag does not seem to bother police agencies around the world.
From as far away as the United Kingdom to as close to campus as Orange County, these Unmanned Aerial Surveillance, or UAS, has been purchased. The Draganflyer has been used so often by police forces, NexGen release a police version of the UAS that has been used north of the border by the Ontario Provincial and Saskatoon police departments.
This growing trend may be attributed to the UAS’s capabilities. The Draganflyer X6 is capable recording high-resolution videos that can aide police during crisis situations.
Capt. Nieves cited hostage situations and oil spills as possible situations that a UAS could be use.
“When you deploy a tactical unit, this is the technology that can be useful,” Nieves said.
With it’s advanced skillset and capabilities; will the UCF police department look to join the national trend of drone-equipped departments?
As of now, the university has no plans to use the aircraft. The community relations department for the UCF police department said the school, one of the largest in the nation, is too small to use that type of technology.
This does not stop students from wondering whether the Draganflyer will ever fly above campus.
This possibility also brings up concerns for student privacy.
Capt. Nieves, who hopes to end these misconceptions, said the UAS is “not something that you can put in the air and walk away from,” and that it must “fly within view of the operator.
Some students understand the limitations of the Draganflyer and see its purpose.
Other students feel that the cost of the Draganflyer X6 is not worth the money. They feel that the money could be used in a different way.
For now, the skies above the University of Central Florida remain clear. No object is flying gracefully through the air and no eagle eye is provided to police. Maybe there is no UAS because there is no chaos ensuing, or maybe emergency teams can execute a plan without its help.
One day the department may look to an object that can provide them with helpful video and that allows them to get into areas that armed police officers would not be able to get to.
This object is a drone.
Its future is unknown.
