Skip to main content

The police may one-day patrol the streets with taser-equipped drones

drone catching drones winter olympics full
The idea of cops sending in drones to Taser suspects may sound far-fetched, but police in the U.S. are reportedly already discussing the possibility.

Talks have recently taken place between police officials and Taser International, a company that makes stun guns and body cameras for use by law enforcement, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

While no decision has yet been made on whether to strap stun guns to remotely controlled quadcopters, Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said his team were discussing the idea with officials as part of broader talks about “various future concepts.”

Tuttle told the Journal that such technology could be deployed in “high-risk scenarios such as terrorist barricades” to incapacitate the suspect rather than kill them outright.

An indication of police willingness to explore high-tech solutions for challenging situations came in July when Dallas cops killed a violent suspect with a bomb delivered by a robot. In a similar situation, a Taser-equipped drone could enable law enforcement to incapacitate a suspect at a safe distance before moving in to make an arrest.

However, critics are likely to fear that such a plan would ultimately lead to the police loading up drones with guns and other weapons.

Portland police department’s Pete Simpson told the Journal that while a Taser drone could be useful in some circumstances, getting the public “to accept an unmanned vehicle that’s got some sort of weapon on it might be a hurdle to overcome.”

Simpson added that it’s nevertheless useful to discuss how technology can play a role in “improving officer safety, community safety, and suspect safety.”

The idea of a Taser-equipped quadcopter is actually nothing new, with at least one company already having built such a contraption. But police have so far only ever deployed stun guns on the ground, manually, and within close proximity of the target.

The day when U.S. citizens see cop-controlled weaponized quadcopters flying overhead may be a ways off, but take note, cops in India already have similar technology in their collection of crime-fighting tools. Several drones equipped with pepper spray canisters were delivered to police in the Indian city of Lucknow last year to allow officers to deal more effectively with unruly crowds.

At the time, Lucknow’s police chief described the modified quadcopter  as “brilliant,” adding that his specially trained pilots had “managed to work out how to use it to precisely target the mob in winds and congested areas.”

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Your drone may soon have to ID itself to officials while it’s in the sky
spark

The proliferation of consumer and commercial drones in the last few years has unfortunately mirrored a rise in incidents of the flying machines going places they shouldn't. Think airports, prisons, and events where large amounts of people are gathered.

With these potentially dangerous flight incursions in mind, governmental authorities are seeking an effective method to identify drones and their owners remotely before deciding whether to attempt a takedown using other equipment, a maneuver which itself can prove risky, especially if there are large crowds in the vicinity.

Read more
One day, the night sky will be full of these dazzling light-up spherical drones
docomo spherical drone display led

We've already witnessed Intel's ambitious bid to excite us with its drone display at Disney Springs, and marveled at the astonishing "drone ballet" performed in the shadow of Mount Fuji. Heck, those bizarre "dancing drone umbrellas" even had us sitting up and taking notice. But NTT Docomo's contribution to the field of drone-based entertainment is surely the most impressive effort yet.

The Japanese telecoms giant has developed what it claims is the world's first spherical drone display that shows LED images on an omnidirectional spherical screen while in flight. If that already sounds a bit bonkers, then take a moment to check it out in the video above. You'll be amazed.

Read more
A drone may one day save your life
nasa drones annoying sound apple maps drone city

Drones currently occupy a somewhat whimsical space in technology. Want to decorate your Christmas tree? No problem. How about a peek at Apple's new campus spaceship? And as is often the case with tech products, what starts off as whimsy ends up with a practical business application -- hello Amazon drone delivery.

Now comes word of a serious, potentially live-saving application for these flying marvels. NBC News reports that EMS response drones could soon be a reality. Imagine you've had a car crash and you're by the side of the road. In zooms the drone, swooping downwards to your location via your smartphone's GPS. It lands softly nearby loaded with medical supplies, which could very well save your life.

Read more