Remote drones help rescue, fight crime

WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) - If you were in Wimberley Saturday and heard a buzzing sound and strange sights up in the sky, it was nothing to be alarmed about.

High-tech wizards from across Texas gathered to share what they've learned developing high-tech, remote-controlled drones.

"I think you probably would categorize all of us as techno-geeks, because we like the gadgets, we like flying things. We like putting all this together in a cohesive package that will do something really neat," drone creator Gene Robinson said.

These drones aren't just toys -- they can help firefighters, crimefighters and search-and-rescue operations. They can be controlled at great distance, using video monitoring devices that show what the drone sees, from high in the sky.

"Its very fun, very useful. We've flown many brush fires, we've searched for missing persons, we've actually recovered eight [people]. We've aided the fire department in lots of brush fires as well. They can sit on the ground and view the screen, and if they see a flare-up they can direct their troops by looking at the screen from the video feed of the aircraft," said drone enthusiast Myron Smoorenburg.

These drones have come a long way. Their weight is down to just ounces, while they transmit pictures that are television quality. The idea Sunday was for these techno-geeks to share their knowledge in a fast-moving, high-flying endeavor.

"It's an emerging technology, mainly from the miniaturization of the electronics. That has been a great boon to us as pilots of remotely piloted aircraft because the smaller a piece gets the easier it is to fly," Smoorenburg said.

Next time you hear a buzz in the sky, look up and smile. You may be on TV.