The DraganFlyer X6 Helicopter is the first North American, federally approved, commercially manufactured UAV legal for use by emergency services in North America — the Saskatoon Police and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Canada will start using the Draganflyer X6 in police investigations. The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, the Regina Leader-Post, and the Calgary Herald newspapers published stories regarding this UAV on March 10th, 2009, from which we have excerpted the following...

The Saskatoon police will begin testing a world-renowned local invention this summer to do aerial photography of crime scenes and collisions. The force will test pilot the DraganFlyer X6, a mini-helicopter and the brainchild of a local company, Draganfly Innovations Inc., that has been making remote-control flying machines for more than a decade. They will become the first police service in North America to use such a device to aid investigations inside a city. The small remote-control helicopter, which uses six horizontal blades, has a built-in camera to help with aerial photography and video. Up until now, police have had to rely on beam trucks to take aerial photographs and capture images of an entire collision scene. The software, which can extrapolate data from photographs based on a few measurements, also cuts down the time police have to remain on scene, he said.

The $15,000 DraganFlyer X6, though compact, is still regarded as an aircraft and comes under aviation regulations, so the company needs to demonstrate it can be operated safely in cities and has utility for police in investigating crimes. This pilot project will be watched closely by government and police agencies across the world, as companies such as DraganFlyer have been lobbying to have the vehicles granted wider use in cities. The operator of the X6 guides the helicopter by using a remote control and wearing video-goggles that show what the chopper sees through the camera. While DraganFlyer staff will pilot the helicopter at first, police officers will decide what to photograph. Engele said he expects trained police officers will pilot the choppers themselves after they take a course this spring and receive proper clearances. The key in expanding the service’s use of the technology is going to be proving the images hold up in court. The X6 was used previously by the Ontario Provincial Police to photograph a homicide scene in rural Ontario and could be used in tactical or surveillance operations.