That is almost cute, I would think.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
If you guys want to spend time looking up a lot of articles for drone stuff Pop Sci has a segment called The week in drones.
General Link and second result has The Week in Drones mentioned above
How hard is it to shoot down even a small drone? Video from article below. General consensus rather difficult actually.
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
Nut with a gun shoots down a quad copter drone guy was using to take a snap shot of a friends home that was being built The guy with the gun was arrested.
More detailed account with photos of what the drone was looking at
edited 2nd Oct '14 4:02:54 PM by TuefelHundenIV
Who watches the watchmen?
The Wanderer
US Navy to deploy armed, robotic patrol boats
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
I saw that the other day and thought they were kinda cool if lacking a bit in fire power.
Drones cleared by FAA for use in filming for moving
NOAA drone used for tracking hurricane
betaalpha
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Cool second link. I liked the article referenced at the bottom of it: 8 totally cool uses for drones. The scariest looking one in that list is a black, sinister thing that resembles (to my novice eyes) a Reaper. Actually it's for wildlife research :)
edited 15th Oct '14 12:59:44 PM by betaalpha
The little Black Hornet sounds like a nifty tactical toy, but its use seems very dependent on wind conditions.
When in deadly danger, When beset by doubt, Run in little circles, Wave your arms and shout.
V
Drones flown in London and Liverpool despite CAA laws
Unless CAA permission has been granted the pilot cannot:
- Fly over or within 150m (492 ft) of a congested area
- Fly over or within 150m (492 ft) of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons
- Fly within 50m (164 ft) of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft
- Fly within 50m (164 ft) of any person
Source: Civil Aviation Authority
The Data Protection Act also applies in the case of any images of individuals.
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The Wanderer
Drones could 3D-map scores of hectares of land in just a few hours
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
Very useful and very cool.
Who watches the watchmen?
The Wanderer
China unveils 'laser to shoot down low-flying drones'
So I hear the French have been having problems with mysterious drones spying on their nuclear power plants under the cover of the night. 15 have reported drone presence, with absolutely no idea who is controlling them. The drones are all cheap, commercially available lightweight models. As French law forbids aircraft from flying below 1000 meters when closer than five kilometers to a nuclear power plant (with violators receiving a fine of up to 75 thousand euros plus a year of prison), the authorities now have permission to shoot down any suspicious drones approaching the power plants.
HGW XX/7
I suspect the culprits are more likely to be eco-freaks than some nefarious terrorist cell or intelligence agency.
edited 4th Nov '14 5:25:27 AM by Achaemenid
Schild und Schwert der Partei
"In distress", my ass.
^ That was actually my first thought as well, given assorted ecologist and animal rights groups that have been using them, including an AR group in S. Carolina that was using a drone to film a pigeon shoot a few years ago... and got it shot down by annoyed hunters. ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
V
It was just another bird, wasn't it? 
V
Unmanned drones 'being used to harass people', police say
The warning came from Ch Insp Nick Aldworth, of the Metropolitan Police, who is part of a nationwide group tasked with looking at the issue. Civilian use of the aircraft, which can be legally flown, is increasing.
Drones, which are officially known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, range in size from small craft operated by enthusiasts, TV companies, police forces and surveyors and weighing a few kilograms, to larger military versions. Smaller ones can be flown without special permission although restrictions apply if they are used in congested areas or near people's homes.
The Lords Internal Market, Infrastructure and Employment Committee has been holding an inquiry into their use by civilians.
Ch Insp Aldworth said the devices, which he described as "things that fly and do not have pilots in them", could be used in a "reckless" or "malicious" way.
Baroness O'Cathain, the committee chairwoman, said a number of concerns about privacy had been raised, but Ch Insp Aldworth said this was not a police matter as there was no criminal privacy law.
However, he said other legislation could be used, for example laws banning voyeurism, in the event of drones with cameras "hovering outside people's bedrooms for whatever nefarious reasons".
Footage posted posted on the internet was the most common way of drone use coming to light, he said, and the peers were told of the difficulties of finding the people responsible.
If a drone "whizzes past your window and catches something that you would rather it didn't catch", he said, it was difficult to catch the person flying it unless the police arrived immediately.
Ch Insp Aldworth said his group's task was to find a "sensible application" of existing laws to control the use of the drones. He said there was no doubt drones had been used in London and around the UK, pointing to footage posted of football stadiums which he said was a contravention of air navigation rules as well as being a potential safety risk if a device fell from the sky.
"We also know it has been used to embarrass people - either VI Ps or members of the public," he said.
Ch Insp Aldworth said a drone had been flown as a protest in front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and that he expected "copycat behaviour" in the UK. He added: "The concerns are really around the fact that we are seeing this technology being used for criminal conduct.
"We have undoubtedly seen it flown in controlled airspace, we have undoubtedly seen it used to harass people, and we have seen it flown in contravention of the air navigation orders, so I think that concern arises by the fact that there is clearly a means of offending that we do not seem to be able necessarily to address quickly."
With Christmas approaching, and prices expected to drop, use of the drones could increase, he added. Last month, pilots' association Balpa told the committee remote aircraft the same size as small passenger planes could be operated commercially in the UK within 10 years, and called for strict controls over their use.
The biggest problem might not be Government use of RPVs — instead it might be civilians, ordinary people.
edited 18th Nov '14 1:47:24 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
Something they don't seem to understand about tech. A drone "whizzing by" is probably going to get a nice blur or a split second view of something. Tell me how do they tell when a drone is being used "nefariously" rather then just simply flying around or being used in a more benign manner?
edited 18th Nov '14 2:59:39 AM by TuefelHundenIV
Who watches the watchmen?
betaalpha
What they're looking to do (find a "sensible application" of existing laws to control the use of the drones) sounds correct enough on paper. Drones can be used for voyeurism, trespass, corporate (or state) espionage, harassment and other crimes, while offering the advantages of flight, detection difficulty and GIFT-style anonymity.
edited 18th Nov '14 5:42:53 AM by betaalpha
V
It's not just the when, it's the where — some locations have restrictions on flying for various reasons, including safety and (national) security. If an "drone" has been seen flying in that area, whatever it was doing, then the person controlling it could be arrested. In other words, what this quote says:
edited 18th Nov '14 5:29:31 AM by Greenmantle
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Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
It is one thing to point out controlled airspace something that is already demarcated but how do you tell outside of that if it is being used for non-honest purposes? You can use any device to intrude already so how do you tell? Just because something is there recording does not mean it is being used in that fashion.
Frankly it sounds more like an exaggeration then a realistic and honest view of the technology.
Who watches the watchmen?
Jupiterian Local
If someone is using a drone to buzz the windows of your house, then that's pretty much nefarious or malicious by definition. It's no different from someone running up to your windows with a camera. It doesn't matter if they claim that they're just testing out their camera, or promise they're not doing anything harmful with the pictures they're taking. It doesn't even matter if they're being honest when they say that. It's still trespassing on your property and invading your privacy — it's just harder to catch someone doing it with a drone than doing it in person.
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
No something flying by is not nefarious. The leap in logic it requires for that to be true is astounding beyond reason. Again how do you prove it is nefarious?
Who watches the watchmen?
Using a drone to look into a house to my knowledge would count as a privacy invasion and/or violation of domicile depending upon the local law.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
There is a difference between a drone flying around and one hovering by a window. Last I checked pretty much all of them need that camera to see what it is going. To claim a drone zipping around is some how a nefarious spying voyeur tool is at best an astounding failure to understand how even basic technology like a camera works never mind an object flying around that kind of requires a camera to see where it is going.
Any sort of "nefarious activity" requires a certain amount of intent and effort beyond passing by a window.
It is no more nefarious then someone walking down the sidewalk recording their surroundings.
edited 18th Nov '14 10:54:58 PM by TuefelHundenIV
Who watches the watchmen?
Now here is a micro-UAV — the Black Hornet Nano
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