SkySeer drone

This little airplane is no toy--it may, in fact, soon be deputized. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is evaluating the SkySeer drone with an eye to using a squadron of them for surveillance and rescue operations; that would make it one of the very first law enforcement agencies to dispatch unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Pictured here at a demonstration flight Friday in Redlands, Calif., are LASD deputy Troy Sella (left) and SkySeer inventor Sam de la Torre. The aircraft has a wingspan of 6.5 feet and weighs just over 3 pounds.