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Aerial spy drone helping Libyan rebels

An aerial spy drone created by a Canadian start-up company is helping Libyan rebels in their fight against government forces.

WATERLOO, Ont. — An aerial spy drone created by a Canadian start-up company is helping Libyan rebels in their fight against government forces.

Aeryon Labs Inc., based out of Waterloo, Ont., says it supplied one of its Aeryon Scout Micro UAV units to the Libyan Transitional National Council, to help rebels identify enemy locations.

The small device — which looks like a toy helicopter, weighs about 1.3 kilograms and fits in a backpack or suitcase — can fly into dangerous areas while shooting high-quality video that is beamed back in real-time, even to smartphones like BlackBerrys and iPhones.

The company also says the device is very easy to use and can be controlled via a map-based, touch-screen interface rather than using a joystick.