RCMP "F" - Draganfly

Draganflyer
Spot Light
RCMP “F” Division
Forensic Collision Reconstruction Program
Corporal Doug Green
Introduction:
At Draganfly Innovations, we are very proud to be working with some of the finest Public Safety organizations
around the world. In this SpotLight article, we’re featuring the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “F” Division Forensic
Collision Reconstruction Program. The team started out with the Draganflyer X6 helicopter system and recently
upgraded to the new Draganflyer X4-ES system and handheld GCS with digital video down-link.
As you’ll read in the following article, the RCMP team are doing real work on a regular basis with these aerial
systems. We take great pride to be working alongside the RCMP, and others, as they bring this new and evolving
technology to practical use.
Background:
In 2010, Sgt. David Domoney, Forensic Collision Reconstruction Program Manager
presented a business case to upper management on the potential use of unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAV’s) at collision scenes. The result of this business case was that
the Forensic Collision Reconstruction program in “F” Division would undertake a
pilot project, to test available UAV platforms and learn what would be best suited
for the program.
Several makes and models of UAV’s were purchased
and tested. One of the UAV systems tested was
the Draganflyer X6. Cpl. Doug Green was trained
by a Draganfly Innovations instructor on the X6
and began using it in his normal duties when
investigating traffic collisions.
The use of the UAV for obtaining aerial
photographs gave a much needed perspective of
the scene. Instead of the normal ground view of
the scene evidence, the aerial view from above
showed the complete paths of the vehicles and
the evidence on the roadway. The use of the
UAV’s quickly grew to include major crime scenes,
search & rescue and with the use of the FLIR, the
ability to provide intelligence at night over
emergency response scenes.
Why the Draganflyer:
The X6 is a relatively easy UAV to fly and is compact enough to be included in the gear used by the collision
reconstructionist. Once the UAV is deployed and in the air, the use of the GPS hold feature is often used to
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
maintain position. With large scenes, several photographs can be stitched together to create an image of the
complete scene in very good detail.
In January 2013, Cpl. Green was trained on the X4-ES and began using it in his daily duties. The new handheld
Ground Control System (GCS) used with the X4-ES gives the operator a much clearer picture of the flight. The new
X4-ES is able to handle much more wind, has longer flying times, and with the digital video link, provides a much
greater detail of photographs and video back to the base station and/or other command positions.
Missions Flown:
Cpl. Green in 2012 logged 99 missions with a total accumulated flight time of 11 hours. These included 13 traffic
collision scenes, 6 crime scenes, 2 search scenes, and 1 ERT scene with the X6. Since training on the X4-ES, Cpl.
Green has logged 4 hours of flight time.
Future Plans:
The “F” Division Forensic Collision Reconstruction program is continuing to test other platforms of UAV’s for use in
different situations as not only one UAV may be suited for all situations that are encountered in police work. The use
of the UAV’s will no doubt become a standard tool in the police tool box.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police