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The Nevada Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Division has become the first agency in the state to use unmanned aerial vehicles, with the creation of its small UAS program last month.

The program was initiated by Trooper Daniel S. Marek. Marek, the lead pilot for the program, told AUVSI that the program has been years in the making.

“We have looked into UAVs off and on again for the last five years,” he said. Marek noted that at one point, the technology as a package was not at the point that the department felt it would be worth it to invest time and money, but that all changed last year when more information showed “that the possibility of a UAV program was now feasible.”

Using one Yuneec Typhoon Q5004k and two Yuneec Typhoon H aircraft, the Highway Patrol will primarily help the Multidisciplinary Investigation and Reconstruction Team with motor vehicle crash reconstruction.

Eventually, the Highway Patrol would like to expand the uses of UAS, in an effort to help open roadways quicker after critical incidents, using overhead imagery and photogrammetry software instead of traditional total station mapping.

Currently, there are three pilots in the state, but more will be trained in the upcoming months to operate the UAS. The pilot duty is an additional duty to current members of the Multidisciplinary Investigation and Reconstruction Team.

According to Marek, the unmanned aircraft will serve as just another option in the Highway Patrol’s repertoire.

“The UAV will be used as just another tool available to the investigator on scene depending upon the requirements of the investigation.”

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