Officials at an Alabama university have divulged a new plan to use unmanned aerial devices to help police monitor, and supposedly protect, students on campus.
Law enforcement officials unveiled the plan Wednesday at a press
conference at the University of Alabama Huntsville, telling the
Huntsville Times the aircraft would provide an “eye in the
sky” that could help stop a mass shooting on campus.
Gary Maddux, the lead research director of Systems Management
and Productions Center, said that because the remote-controlled
surveillance devices fly at a lower altitude than drones, they are
totally unlike the controversial military aircraft.
“We just want to be able to make a difference and we want to
make a difference quickly and come up with something to help law
enforcement,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about —
improving our response times so maybe we could mitigate the next
tragedy that could occur.”
Maddux did not specify how the surveillance technology will
prevent criminal activity or improve campus police response time.
He did add, however, that the drones will “be incredibly useful
and offer a wide range of possible applications.”
The UAVs used over the University of Alabama Huntsville will be
capable of using small spotlights or infrared cameras, along with
video cameras. But being fitted with the extra technological perks
doesn’t mean the police will use them, Maddux claimed.
“Obviously, we’re going to be very cognizant of any privacy
issues for students,” he continued. “You can’t be flying
your drone and look inside a dorm window. But you couldn’t do that
if you were stationary or over in this building and had a line of
sight to look in a dorm window. It’s the same basic
rules.”
He bristled when pressed on how the technology employed by the
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) differs from the military drones
that regularly complete secret bombing missions around the
world.
“Obviously, the military has UAVs that fly longer, higher and
farther,” he said. “Since we are research and the military
has set of rules. If you are domestic and falling under what
Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, you have to stay under
400 feet. As far as drone technology versus what we’re doing, I
think it’s more syntax than anything.”
The plan seems to be in direct violation of a bill steadily
making its way through the Alabama state legislature. The bill,
proposed by a Huntsville lawmaker, would make it necessary for law
enforcement to obtain a warrant in order to use a drone in order to
prevent, in the words of one state senator, “unmanned drones
just flying around looking for stuff.”
This article originally appeared on : RT