Remote-controlled Helicopter Makes First Arrest

Flying remote-controlled helicopters have come a long way from crashing into lamps and ceilings in your mom's living room; today most 8 year olds have RC contraptions capable of video and nerf combat, at the very least.

Law enforcement also has some decent equipment these days. The Merseyside police in the U.K. just arrested a suspected car thief in January using a remote-controlled helicopter dubbed the Air Robot. Using the onboard thermal-imaging camera, the operator was able to locate the suspect, a 16-year-old male, in thick fog, hiding in bushes.

The £40,000 battery-powered silent-hovering drone can fly up to 500 feet high and has a range of 1,500 feet. It measures 3 feet long and can mount a variety of cameras, including CCTV, night-vision and thermal.

The Merseyside police have been using the drones in search and rescue operations and executing drug warrants for the past two years, but this is the first arrest that is attributed to the Air Robot.

It will be interesting to see if the evidence gathered from the drone will be accepted in a British court.