This dumbbell-size device is already used by law enforcement agencies across the country and military personnel in Iraq. The Recon Scout has served in the battlefield during the Iraq war. It is now all set to be used to monitor prisoner behavior at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The bot is designed to survive a 30-foot fall onto concrete. The Recon Scout is deployed more like a remote-controlled grenade: You pull a pin to turn the robot on—the lack of an on/off switch makes it easier to activate while wearing bulky gloves and respirators, and prevents it from being turned off by the impact of hitting the ground. The most likely use for the drone will be for confrontations, and particularly during standoffs. A SWAT team commander had used this device only once this year to monitor the internal situation of a women's residence who threatened to burn her condominium. The SWAT team with the help of the device managed to locate her in the bathroom, then sneak up on her without causing any damage and then tazer her to control the situation.

The Recon Scout may sound expensive at approx $6000 or $9000 with an IR camera, but for a robot that can be remotely controlled and save countless hours in negotiations, it surely is dirt-cheap.

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