Thanks to the rise of military-style imaging drones, AI-integrated surveillance towers, and automatic license plate readers, police across the United States have more eyes in the sky than ever before. So why on Earth are university police in Florida spending six figures on a ridiculous-looking quadcopter that fits just one single officer at a time?
The answer to that question is harder to find than it appears on the surface. A new collaboration between Florida Polytechnic University, the campus police department, and a Swedish aerospace company called Jetson has birthed the “Astro,” an absurd electric flying machine capable of carrying a payload of exactly one cop in its cramped cockpit.
Footage shared by local station Fox13 shows the Astro — originally called the “Jetson ONE” by its creators — in all its glory: a black and white electric vertical take-off and landing (eVOTL) vehicle complete with police decals and a hilariously diminutive light bar.
According to the station’s reporting, the Astro cost the university $150,000, and weighs 154 pounds without a battery or pilot. It has a pitiful maximum flight time of just 20 minutes, and its top speed clocks in at just under 65 mph. Though Florida Polytechnic demonstrated the Astro’s flight capabilities to the press, it has yet to win official approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, Fox13 reported.
