CASTLE PINES, Colo. — Just as PGA fans at the BMW Championship were keeping their eyes on the sky, so were Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) deputies. But, the two groups were looking for different things.
For the first time, DCSO deployed drone-detection technology at a major event. The technology, provided by UAS Sentry, allowed Morris Hansen, a sheriff's office volunteer, to see the locations of any in-flight drones and their pilots.
"We have receivers that are detecting any drone activity," Hansen explained. "It could be friendly drones, rogue drones [or] any activity in the 2 mile circle."
He said this helps the agency stay on top of potential unauthorized activity.
"People just want to be able to see what the golf tournament is like," Hansen said. "People want to use their drone. What we're providing is just making sure there's a safe environment for the players, a safe environment for the public that's here [and] that's all."
Hansen said the technology has been set up since Monday. While there wasn't any violations during tournament playtime, a temporary flight restriction was issued from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. If someone was caught flying, they wouldn't be arrested or fined, but would be asked to bring it down.
"It’s just, 'Oh there’s a drone in the air. Let’s go find where the pilot is so we can have a conversation with him,'" Hansen said.
However, the technology is quick to catch a drone as soon as it launches.
"So, what we’re looking at here is a remote ID receiver," Hansen shared. "It’s constantly looking for and scanning remote IDs of drones that are in the air. If it detects one, then you get the longitude and latitude of the drone and the location of the pilot."
He explained there were some media drones filming the event that would populate on his map. He had their IDs memorized and icons color-coded to remember they were authorized to fly.
"If you think about remote IDs as like a license plate, pretty soon you recognize a license plate and you know that’s a friendly drone; One that I know about," Hansen said.
Hansen said outside of large events, the sheriff's office can carry portable receivers to monitor skies above the scene of an incident. If there was an accident that called for air flight resources, a deputy could use a receiver in the field to track a pilot and their drone to request it be brought down.
"The more quickly you can do that, [it] helps everyone," Hansen said. "Scene safety [and] pilots on the man-aircraft [are] really the probable, more practical use on the day-to-day basis or events like this."
Hansen has been working with drones for several years and he noted there's a large interest by law enforcement to find ways to take advantage of a changing technical world.