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Drones...

rootabaga

rootabaga

Android Expert
On the totality of facts and circumstances of this case, I agree with the outcome dismissing all charges against the man who shot down the drone.
I'm also perturbed by the drone's owner who seems to think he has a right to overfly and observe the property of others at his whim (and says he plans to appeal for an indictment to a grand jury).
That said, I certainly don't agree with people just randomly grabbing a shotgun and shooting down drones whenever they see them, though I certainly appreciate and understand the property owner's concerns.
There's lots of legislation coming down the pike that will hopefully address these kinds of concerns, though there will still be the issues that arise when drone owners decide to ignore the law, just as some now ignore the rights of others to be left alone. ;)

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...rideth-kentucky-man-arrested-shooting-n452281


What does everyone else think?
 
yeah... I agree that the drones can be an invasion of privacy..

but with a good camera .. a drone can spy from a few houses down.. or from 200 ft above.
 
While I do see the usefulness of drones, if I'm being honest I have to say I despise those things. If people think they have no privacy now, they haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until law enforcement has them buzzing around everywhere. Hell, it's already to the point that a guy can't even catch some rays on top of a windmill without being harassed.

 
jefboyardee said:
What I find amazing is that now that there's thousands of drones flying out there, it just occurred to the guvment that they should be licensed.
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Apparently, the government this side of the pond has been rather more proactive: the first conviction of a photographer for using a drone without a license was way back in April last year.

Have to say, I have yet to see a drone in the flesh - unless you count those plastic helicopter things with the four rotors. I don't think it's much of an issue over here .. yet.
 
Those plastic helicopter things with 4 rotors are what we're calling drones in the States these days. The Predator and The Reaper are two examples of what we used to call drones but are now referred to as UAV's mostly in military circles. AFAIK no one has a personal Predator or Reaper yet.
 
Seeing as drones are a relatively new thing, there's definitely some really solid pros and cons that need to be sorted out. Whether the drone industry figures out how to regulate itself or laws need to be created to do so is still something we're all waiting to see happens. Some people find any government oversight to be abhorrent, some can't imagine how boldly invasive drones have become already. While I see lots of good purposes for them, such as a fire department being able to get overhead surveillance on a something like a warehouse fire or wilderness brush fire, at this point there are just too many documented instances of ignorant people doing stupid things -- some guy flew his drone into Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park, someone prevented fire prevention helicopters from attending to a fire because their drone was idly flying around to taking pictures of the fire, there have been numerous reports by pilots across the country regarding drones being too close their aircraft, a few months ago some guy crashed his drone into a street and parts of it hit a baby girl in a stroller, and the list can go on and on. While some worry about their privacy being violated I think the attention should be put on those much more serious issues.
 
I agree but think the guvment has already waited too long to regulate the operation of drones; already too many out there that they know nothing about.
 
Any new technology goes through a growing stage where it takes a while for everything to 'gel'. Drones didn't really become a noticeable thing in the consumer market until just a few years ago. Yeah, quite a few are out in the public at this point but if you look at the Big Picture as far as percentage of saturation across the country it's just a tiny number. Obsolescence is going to slowly weed out 'unregulated' early models and whatever happens as far as regulation will work its way into place. Government policy typically moves at a really glacial pace. We live in a culture where we want instant everything at the convenience of pushing a button but that's actually a good thing. If all laws were enacted because of gut reactions and spur-of-the-moment decisions we'd be more screwed than we already are. A few years down the road hopefully the drone controversy will be taken care of and we'll just fixate on some other trivial issue.
 
Amazon unveils new Prime Air drone prototypes

According to details released Sunday by the online retailing giant, Amazon says the drones weigh 55 pounds and can carry packages weighing up to 5 pounds. The drones fly under 400 feet and use "sense and avoid" technology to dodge potential obstacles en route to its delivery destination.​

I suppose Domino's is next.
 
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jefboyardee said:
But how does one say 'no?' If I order something that weighs less than five pounds, what's keeping them from flying over my front yard and landing at the door, surrounded by kids, each with two eyes?
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I'm sure it won't be a standard shipping option. You'll pay out the ass for the privilege. The next day shipping from Amazon is outrageous already.
 
jefboyardee said:
But how does one say 'no?' If I order something that weighs less than five pounds, what's keeping them from flying over my front yard and landing at the door, surrounded by kids, each with two eyes?
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yeah.. I am sure it is an option that you will have to pay for.
so if you don't pay.. they don't use the drone.

and from the video.. I am guessing, they will first send you an AMAZON landing pad to display when you sign up for this delivery option. you find a good area for it to use, lay it out and wait for delivery.
 
Drone falls into crowd, injures runners during road race

ANDOVER, Mass. (AP) -- Police are investigating after a drone taking aerial video of a Thanksgiving Day road race in Massachusetts crashed into a pack of runners, slightly injuring two.

Andover police say the drone clipped a tree branch shortly after the Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Race began with nearly 10,000 runners. An Andover High School teacher says he was operating it to capture "aerial perspectives of the starting line."​

This will slowly but surely get out of hand.
 
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