an update on the use of drones in us airspace

[Don Quixote]

i wonder how long before drone are in the hands of private citizens, let alone law enforcement

the potential for abuse is monumental

Drones come in all sizes, from the high-flying Global Hawk with its 116-foot wingspan to a hummingbird-like drone that weighs less than an AA battery and can perch on a window ledge to record sound and video. Lockheed Martin has developed a fake maple leaf seed, or "whirly bird," equipped with imaging sensors, that weighs less than an ounce.

Congress has told the FAA that the agency must allow civilian and military drones to fly in civilian airspace by September 2015. This spring, the FAA is set to take a first step by proposing rules that would allow limited commercial use of small drones for the first time.

The aerospace industry forecasts a worldwide deployment of almost 30,000 drones by 2018, with the United States accounting for half of them.

http://news.yahoo.com/pressure-builds-civilian-drone-flights-home-150120049.html

 

[SmarterthanYou]

I expect state and/or federal legislation to prohibit use and possession of remotely operated vehicles capable of audio and video recording with law enforcement exempted of course. Then, as is likely to happen, when people start shooting them down or using frequency/radio wave scramblers to disrupt the communications, any and all scrambling devices will be prohibited to all except law enforcement. Both crimes will constitute felonies with 5 years in prison.

 

[Don Quixote]

I expect state and/or federal legislation to prohibit use and possession of remotely operated vehicles capable of audio and video recording with law enforcement exempted of course. Then, as is likely to happen, when people start shooting them down or using frequency/radio wave scramblers to disrupt the communications, any and all scrambling devices will be prohibited to all except law enforcement. Both crimes will constitute felonies with 5 years in prison.

i wonder how long before scotus gets involved - the aclu is already sticking their oar in

 

[Damocles]

Interesting. Why use pilots to send packages, we can send drones? At the same time these drones can spy on our population to ensure they are following the thousands of laws that can make almost anything you do illegal. Yaay! Now that's what I call progress!

 

[SmarterthanYou]

Interesting. Why use pilots to send packages, we can send drones? At the same time these drones can spy on our population to ensure they are following the thousands of laws that can make almost anything you do illegal. Yaay! Now that's what I call progress!

well, you know it's only the government doing their job in protecting everyones right to feel safe.

 

[Disillusioned]

well, you know it's only the government doing their job in protecting everyones right to feel safe.

I really doubt that anyone feels safer with the hummingbird drone watching them through the window. Let's leave that sort of creepy watching for the movies and science fiction books.

 

[RockX]

How to deal with a drone....

Hunters take aim at an animal rights group's video drone


A remote-controlled aircraft owned by an animal rights group was reportedly shot down near Broxton Bridge Plantation Sunday near Ehrhardt, S.C.

Steve Hindi, president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness), said his group was preparing to launch its Mikrokopter drone to video what he called a live pigeon shoot on Sunday when law enforcement officers and an attorney claiming to represent the privately-owned plantation near Ehrhardt tried to stop the aircraft from flying.

"It didn't work; what SHARK was doing was perfectly legal," Hindi said in a news release. "Once they knew nothing was going to stop us, the shooting stopped and the cars lined up to leave."

He said the animal rights group decided to send the drone up anyway.

"Seconds after it hit the air, numerous shots rang out," Hindi said in the release. "As an act of revenge for us shutting down the pigeon slaughter, they had shot down our copter."

He claimed the shooters were "in tree cover" and "fled the scene on small motorized vehicles."

"It is important to note how dangerous this was, as they were shooting toward and into a well-travelled highway," Hindi stated in the release. He said someone from SHARK called the Colleton County Sheriff's Department, which took a report of the incident.

The Colleton County Sheriff's Department filed a malicious damage to property incident report.

According to the report, Hindi told the responding deputy the group's remote-controlled aircraft "was hovering over U.S. 601 when he heard a shot come from the wood line. The shot sounded to him that it was of small caliber."

The incident report went on to state that "once shot, the helicopter lost lift and crash landed on the roadway of U.S. 601."

The deputy noted in the report that he was unable to speak to anyone at Broxton Bridge Plantation following the incident.

Hindi estimated damage to the drone at around $200 to $300.

Hindi said he will seek charges against those who shot down the drone.

"This was SHARK's first encounter with the Broxton Bridge Plantation, but it will certainly not be the last," Hindi said in the release. "We are already making plans for a considerably upscaled action in 2013."


http://thetandd.com/animal-rights-g...cle_017a720a-56ce-11e1-afc4-001871e3ce6c.html