Pretty Scary Shit - Coming Soon To A Sky Near You

[kpete]

Drone Use Takes Off on the Home Front
By ANDY PASZTOR and JOHN EMSHWILLER


Dozens of universities and law-enforcement agencies have been given approval by federal aviation regulators to use unmanned aircraft known as drones. Jennifer Valentino-DeVries reports on digits. Photo: AP.

The more than 50 institutions that received approvals to operate remotely piloted aircraft are more varied than many outsiders and privacy experts previously knew. They include not only agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security but also smaller ones such as the police departments in North Little Rock, Ark., and Ogden, Utah, as well the University of North Dakota and Nicholls State University in Louisiana.

The information, released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, came to light as the Federal Aviation Administration gears up to advance the widespread use of the drones. By the fall of 2015, Congress wants the agency to integrate remotely piloted aircraft throughout U.S. airspace.

..............

Although the documents don't indicate how the aircraft will be used, the disclosures likely will fuel privacy concerns involving drones.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304331204577354331959335276.html

(What I want to know is WHY dozens Of Universities need Drones!!!???
kpete)

[gateley]

1. There was an article on the front page of The Seattle Times this morning about the

drones the SPD has received approval to use. Not much info is forthcoming, but the ACLU is on it!

[roguevalley]

28. this whole world has been debased since bush/cheney. I'm glad I'm old.

[CoffeeCat]

32. And conversely...

I'm frightened for my children!

What the hell is going on????

[onethatcares]

48. we are living in the free world and

in the free world we'll remain.

Kudos to Phil Ochs for that one.

[stevenleser]

81. You know that remote control planes have been around for 50+ years right? There are clubs

for flying them. And you have been able to mount cameras on them since the beginning when they came out. That is all a drone is. This is nothing new.

[roguevalley]

121. I hear you. my babies too.

[gateley]

67. I know -- I think that a lot. I don't want to live long enough to see Soylent Green

become reality. I ache for my niece and nephew and all the other young people in the country.

[TomClash]

2. Black helicopters!

To answer your question - the reason is to intimidate, watch, suppress and ultimately, harm the university population.

[saras]

15. As you point out, there's no OTHER reason to paint them black

If they were serious about spying, they'd paint them gray or sky blue.

[Scuba]

72. +1

[panopeagenerosa]

3. "What I want to know is WHY dozens Of Universities need Drones!!!??? kpete"

Just a wild guess but science comes to mind. Hydrology, forestry, agronomy, busting frat parties...

[EmeraldCityGrl]

22. Or busting protestors...

[stevenleser]

80. Universities will be busting what part of protesters? nt

[Odin2005]

58. "Busting frat parties" DUzy!!!

[Warren DeMontague]

87. POT SMOKER IN DORM ROOM 28B!

Call in the satellite strike!

[99th_Monkey]

109. Not to mention voyeurism of Univ. Security staff

running these things. It's downright creepy if you ask me.

[PoliticAverse]

4. Engineering schools might want to design, build and test them as part of an engineering program. n/t

[Junkdrawer]

5. Yes. But those in the Inner Party get to switch them off....

I used to have as my tag:

1984 was a Warning not an Instruction Manual

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. The University of North Dakota has a whole department

devoted to unmanned aircraft; it's part of their School of Aerospace Sciences.

Welcome to the Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research, Education and Training. The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research, Education and Training will provide a conduit between private industry and UAS researchers, promoting commercialization of new UAS-related products and services while bringing new UAS-related business ventures to North Dakota. To see details of our academic program click here.
Our goals

Create a world-class infrastructure for UAS development, testing, and evaluation
Create the finest training program of its kind anywhere in the world
Promote commercialization of new UAS-related products and services
Promote private sector job growth within Grand Forks and throughout the state of North Dakota.

http://www.uasresearch.com/home.aspx

[glinda]

10. Aren't there missile silos by there as well as a lot of military?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. The missile silos are gone now - they closed them

about 10 years ago. Grand Forks Air Force Base used to have B-52s and B-1s, but now it's a tanker base.

[dotymed]

115. Those are great goals, but at what cost?

Eventually, every movement you make will be recorded and possibly used as evidence against you. I desperately want a fair, U.S. made economy but not at the price of my personal freedoms. Too many utterly clueless Americans, would be amazed (if they even knew what a drone is) to learn that "our" Fascist government has a new weapon in their bag of tricks, To make sure that citizens have no secrets. How did this happen in the land of the free?

[targetpractice]

7. But the feds won't allow TacoCopter

http://www.tacocopter.com

[Buns_of_Fire]

38. Too much chance for domestic terrorism, I guess.

What if some evil-doer hijacked the drone and started dropping live tacos -- or, God forbid, spicy bean burritos -- on an unsuspecting citizenry?

There'd be panic in the streets, I tell ya.

(Come to think of it, I rather like the idea... )

[Beartracks]

112. LIVE tacos?? Oh, the humanity!

"As God is my witness, I thought tacos could fly!"

============================

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Public money to pay for drones?

Also recruiting young, impressionable kids?

[midnight]

9. They don't know what else to do with military equipment they

are bringing back from war than to use it in our backyards...

"Ryan Calo, who conducts research into privacy and robotics at Stanford Law School, said the domestic use of drones will likely grow as more machines are brought back from war and as prices fall."

[lovuian]

12. Big Brother is watching you

We got you on film now

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I will give you two uses you have not thought off

Geology and engineering.

Drones have a role...I would have loved access to them to assess a few scenes before sending people in...but they also have a really dark side...

But to answer your question, San Diego state coud use a few for the geology department and tracing recent breaks in the crust after a quake...and the engineering people can se them to check on infrastructure. Those are very legit uses.

Now my local pd using them to spy sans warrant, that is the dark side of it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. I am wondering whether they could be used for crop dusting.

That's very hazardous flying. You could, of course, argue that farmers shouldn't be using hazardous pesticides at all, but they do, and the people who do crop dusting are exposed directly to those chemicals, and the flying itself is pretty dangerous. Maybe this is something else drones could be developed to do that doesn't involve sureveillance.

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Yes

You literally coud take a modern crop duster and install the electronics, program way points and mission.

It is well within the parameters of what is possible. You could do this also by flying them from the ground the way a Predator is controlled.

Technically it is possible. The regulations have to catch up to this.

[and-justice-for-all]

14. Seems like a handy tool to have...

In the event that a perp eludes the officers, that UAV can help locate the perp or aide in assessing in determining is what that tanker truck spill is and make sure its safe to enter the area...I can see a lot of usefulness from these UAVs that will help law enforcement, sorry I cant be part of the "I hate cops" crowd, my partner is a cop and so our several of our friends.

[DeSwiss]

21. ''He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither.'' - Benjamin Franklin :-/ n/t

[blackspade]

25. It has nothing to do with hating cops.

It is about militarizing the police and private groups.
This is military equipment that is being turned on us.
The US people have become the 'threat.'
In other words a 'source of MIC profits.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. While I can see UAVs in rescue, disaster Et al

Be careful how far you go in letting these things turned on you. I guess you'd have zero issues with warrantless surveillance from 10 k feet, well within technical capacity. I mean you got nothing to hide. Right?

[Warren DeMontague]

88. I don't hate cops. I hate the fact that our main law enforcement priority

seems to be keeping consenting adults from smoking pot.

Many LEO's are tired of the wasteful, stupid drug war, too.

[caseymoz]

16. Holy shit! That thing looks like a spider.

That looks like the sort thing Skynet sends to hunt you.

[alfredo]

18. Small paper kites act like barrage balloons. Helium balloons on long strings look cool too.

[kentauros]

44. We need some

long-distance Silly String, too

The moment I saw that image, my first thought was, "How well will it do against an arrow with some string attached?"

[alfredo]

64. Helium balloons with fishing line would make the drones stand off or risk tangling.

[alfredo]

65. The arrow would fall to ground with the potential of hurting someone.

[n2doc]

98. Unless it was a suction cup arrow! n/t

[alfredo]

116. They lack range, and a bow and arrow looks like a weapon to the cops, kites, balloons, and frisbees,

not so much.

[PoliticAverse]

19. "More colleges offering courses in ‘hot’ drone field as students drawn to sky’s-the-limit salaries"

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/25/032512-news-drone-university-1-4/

[DeSwiss]

20. K&R

- They won't stop until we make them stop.....

''All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely exclusively on force.'' ~ George Orwell

[Egalitarian Thug]

51. +1

[tavalon]

23. Woah!

I might have to take up skeet shooting again. Those look way more fun than clay pigeons.

[Pachamama]

39. Ha ha ha!!! Great minds think alike.....

....My thoughts exactly....

[Richard D]

52. +1

Target practice was my first thought. Second thought was I'd love one for photography.

[guitar man]

71. Pull!!

[LiberalEsto]

75. Time for trebuchets!

I'd love to see pumpkins flung at these things.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

24. I wonder how effective a Dove load would be on them?

Can we get tags for that?

[Ilsa]

26. I'm wondering if they could be rendered

Inoperable or ineffective with a big burst of black paint on the lens. Or maybe another chemical to gum up the moving parts? I'd rather not be spraying shot if I could avoid it.

But yeah, these flying peepers are begging to be shot down, one way or another.

[kentauros]

45. How about

a wire-controlled Estes rocket?

[Ilsa]

27. That black central top piece reminds me of the helmets on

Darth Vader's black guard pilots. Same shape.

[Voice for Peace]

29. can't people with guns just shoot them down?

[former9thward]

61. Almost no city allows guns to be discharged outside.

[Deep13]

30. You know what those things would be really good for?

or maybe even:

[aggiesal]

31. If we see one, . . .

can we shoot it out of the sky?

[FrodosPet]

102. It depends

1) Are you an amazingly good shot? The world record sniper shot is about 8000 feet for a relatively station full sized human being. If these things are 10,000 feet up and/or away, you are probably going to miss.

2) Are you, your family, friends, and neighbors prepared for the inevitable hell and SWAT teams?

Irony: People posting on Democratic Underground being worried about some toy airplanes when the government already knows far more about you from being a member here than they ever will from the drone copters.

I'm not saying that the use of these should be wide open. There should be some strict laws covering their operation, and severe penalties for violation (just as there should be for ANY unconstitutional invasion of privacy). But there are some solid lifesaving missions these could legitimately be used for, and it would suck knowing that pollution has to continue and people have to die because this, like almost every other form of technology, can be used to oppress if not controlled.

[Speck Tater]

33. What about PIZZA DELIVERY DRONES?

You want your pizza in under 30 minutes, right? So what better way to get it to you than to fly over the top of all the traffic and to deliver it right to your front door?

You can buy one for about $300:

They're the new hot thing among radio control aircraft buffs.

[marshall gaines]

36. controversy

big brother, big time, be crashing into buildings causing injury and controversy

[intaglio]

37. OOOO Skary Droanes! Everybodys panick!

First danger debunk:
The payloads are tiny

Check the size of the drone illustrated, you can do that by looking at the comparative size of the wiring and the camera, it is between 30 and 45 cm across (12 - 18 inches) and that camera is probably close to the maximum payload it can carry. It is black because it is largely uncoloured carbon fibre to reduce weight.

The other drone in the WSJ article looks to have a wingspan of about 1.2 metres (4 foot) and again the camera will be close to it's maximum payload because it will be designed for longer duration flights.

Yes, you can already fit weapons to radio controlled model helicopters (see You Tube) but the flight duration is rubbish, accuracy beyond 20 metres is rubbish and they are noisy because they use those screaming petrol engines

Purposes:
For universities? How about checking pollution incidents, environmental monitoring, traffic flow analysis, wildlife radio tag tracking and probably another 100 uses I cannot imagine.

For the police? Aerial views of car wreck sites, infrared scouting for intruders and lost children, traffic management, tracking criminals to their homes or stashes.

For State and Federal agencies? disaster management, emergency communications in remote areas and following disaster (those are what the very large wingspan, long flight duration varieties are for), pollution monitoring.

All of the above can be accomplished without firing up a very expensive, big, noisy, comparatively non-agile manned helicopter.

Notes
These are not the UAVs used in war zones, they cannot carry the weaponry that makes such UAVs deadly. Such UAVs use Hellfire missiles and, rarely, Gatling style machine guns.

Practising skeet shooting and similar gun fantasies. Sheet move on a predictable course, drones do not. Skeet are less than 20 metres from you, drones are not. Skeet are made of clay, drones are carbon fibre. You know where skeet will come from and know roughly when skeet are to be released, drones not so much. If the Afghans cannot shoot down drones with their vast collection of assorted guns and missiles do you think you will be able to do so?

Although certain States will want to use these to spy into your bedroom (I'm looking at you Kentucky) it is not very likely as [s]most[/s] many legislators might have sexual practises that would, proverbially, make a mink blush.

[SomethingFishy]

55. ROFLMFAO...

Yeah all our drones are going to be used for educational, recreational, and humanitarian purposes. We in the USA are quite well known for, protecting the privacy of our citizens and using our technology for the betterment of mankind.



Sucker.

[intaglio]

73. Well, at least I am not regurgitating silly conspiracy theories

The uses I outlined are already those intended for these drones. You seem to be so scared of new technology I am surprised you can use a computer as many surveillance threats imagined for drones were also imagined as being possible with computer technology.

Are my size estimates wrong? Have you compared or actually looked at the size of these things? Have you heard them? Are you saying they will be fitted with some super sniper ray gun? Or that they will have X-ray vision? Certainly Predator drones can carry deadly weaponry but those are not what universities, police forces and government agencies want, they are too big and not agile enough for the intended use and they are far too expensive.

You and others like you are like scared children, afraid of the dark and certain that someone intends to kill you. Your fears lead you open to manipulation by the very forces you regard with contempt; the big companies who do not want environmental surveillance, or want vast, overly expensive solutions that drones can more cheaply accomplish.

[stevenleser]

90. Who is the sucker? Remote control planes have been around for over 50 years

http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-airplane-clubs.html

The sky has not fallen.

[Warren DeMontague]

69. "infrared scouting for intruders and lost children" .... translation:

Here are the only 'intruders and lost children' your tax dollars will be funding these toys to find:

[intaglio]

74. That is already done, because the infrared signature of hemp is very specific

They don't need drones for that which is why so much production is done under cover and/or hydroponically. Large area photos in the correct spectrum are made all the time and the only saving grace is that ditch weed has a very similar ir signature. Scanning in the visible spectrum for hemp is a nonsense similar to the CSI programs where a fingerprint can be "enhanced" from a single pixel.

[Warren DeMontague]

82. My point is, that's what our tax dollars are doing when they buy these high tech toys.

Nonsense about "finding lost children" aside, it's REALLY about tossing as many cancer grannies in prison for getting high as possible, and keeping the DRUG!$ WAR!$ GRAVY$! TRAIN$! chug chug chugging along.

Just watch. Like The "Patriot Act".. which was supposed to be about going after terrorists, and what did we find? Yet another tool in the arsenal to keep filling our prisons with non violent drug offenders.

[intaglio]

117. It is not nonsense.

For law enforcement the primary purpose will be aerial surveillance of small areas. Some of those areas will be the scrub and back yards where petty criminals hide out, some will be roads and tracks when major accidents occur and to see why there are traffic jams and hold ups. Think about what is possible now with the software and hardware. The only difference is it is a low cost, low impact alternative to a traditional helicopter.

For the Forestry Service, low altitude rapid response scanning of "hot spots" and smoke trails, monitoring of logging and pollution, high altitude supply of communications to fire teams as well as search and rescue teams.

Coastguard, rapid and safe initial scan of boats and ships, pollution monitoring of emissions from foreign vessels, probably some method of scanning for bodies in the water, checking out those kids cut off by rising tides.

Environment agencies, pollution monitoring again, drought and flood effects, checking levees ...

Power companies, rapid and cheap scanning of powerlines after ice storms, floods and fires; probably maintenance scanning as well.

University Biology departments, plant growth monitoring, tracking radio collars.

Archaeological services. quick aerial photographs, investigation of parch marks

Real estate, quick aerial shots of the property for sale, quick investigation of the integrity of roofs and walls prior to purchase.

If the "security" agencies of the state can use these for nefarious purposes then they already are, and without FAA oversight of such use,

[Warren DeMontague]

119. I think the technology COULD be put to many of those, very good uses.

However, the fact that we spend $60 Billion a year to incarcerate wheelchair bound cancer grannies for daring to smoke a forbidden plant, makes me dubious.

[intaglio]

120. Fair comment

but as said they're already doing that

[JCMach1]

40. Are we all going to need to carry personal laser counter measures?

This needs to stop...

[kentauros]

47. No, just a Super Soaker filled with

paint, oil, liquid soap, molasses, green slime, coconut curry, glue, pureed okra, boiled flax seeds, eggs, ...

[stevenleser]

91. Have you had to up until now? Remote control planes have been around for 50+ years.

http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-airplane-clubs.html

[JCMach1]

41. Who knew? Rob Halford (of Judas Priest) was a prophet

[raouldukelives]

54. Man it's been a few years since I heard that!

[Jester Messiah]

108. Hah, I was just playing that song in Rock Band yesterday.

I remember thinking how prescient it seemed. Oh, and how much it fuggin' ROCKED.

[unc70]

42. Just lookup Quadrocopter and watch them in action. -- order them now online

You can buy a small one for $1-2000 and the prices are coming down. Watch the videos of swarms of autonomous ones flying through obstacles, etc.

There are versions with things like iPhone interfaces.

I think someone posted a link to a swarm playing the 007 theme song. YouTube is full of this stuff.

[upi402]

43. 10 days

until then the "authorities" get tired of computer geeks zapping them out of the air and then modding the hell out of them.

[slackmaster]

46. Paging Janet Reno...

[HopeHoops]

49. Skynet.

[lunatica]

50. This was inevitable

Any science fiction buff knows it was bound to happen. Cameras on every corner and drones overhead. If the authorities can do it you can rest assured that they will.

Maybe the upside will be that we'll be safer. But I wonder if that's what they'll be used for.

On second thought. No. I don't wonder at all. I know they'll be used against us too.

[Liberal_in_LA]

53. LAPD is always buzzing LA, shining its lights on us

[EFerrari]

56. How is that not terrorism?

We hear nearly every day about drones killing people overseas. How is it not terrorism to subject a populace to watching these things flying over their communities, knowing that?

[stevenleser]

93. So do these clubs need to be made illegal and shut down?

http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-airplane-clubs.html

[Odin2005]

57. Flame me, but I see no problem with this.

Unless you are against drones being used for search-and-rescue, geology, hydrology, surveying, etc.

[BiggJawn]

59. The problem is...

... for every beneficial function you can think up, somebody else has 3 evil uses for them.

It's true that Technology is a two-edged sword.

[Warren DeMontague]

86. I'm against multi million dollar drones being used to stop cancer patients from curbing nausea w/pot

which is, invariably, what this giant fucking law enforcement cash and high tech toy bonanza is going to be used for.

[Odin2005]

92. The same can be said for ANY technology.

So do you want to destroy all technology so the PTB can't use it?

[Warren DeMontague]

94. Yes. I want to destroy all technology. Perhaps you're heard of me, my name is Ned Ludd.

Actually, I'm quite capable of appreciating cool technology and simultaneously expecting that we STOP PISSING AWAY $60 BILLION A YEAR TO GO AFTER POT SMOKING.

If we want to spend taxpayer dollars on technological advancement, it should go to NASA, not the DEA.

[Odin2005]

96. I AM FOR LEGALIZING POT, OK???

[Warren DeMontague]

100. I'm not arguing with you.

I'm fed up with watching our tax dollars go to these fancy expensive toys which are, invariably, used to go after people like the cancer patient growing pot in a closet. It's fucking out of control.

Same with laws like the PATRIOT act: Passed obstensibly to "go after teh terrorists", what have its powers been used for, almost exclusively? That's right: to go after low-level drug offenders.

[Johonny]

60. why is it cities and states have no money to pay people

but constant dollars to spend on electronic thingy's that are likely to spend lots of time broken and non-productive?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

62. Well....at least we don't have to worry about anarchy any more....

[ThoughtCriminal]

63. A line from Orwell's 1984

"Helicopters silently watch over the masses to keep people from committing thoughtcrime, by planting the fear of "always being watched""

[alfredo]

66. The camera doesn't need to be operational to be effective. Look at the aim of torture.

It is known it's of little worth for collecting intelligence, but it is known that it intimidates a population. It's like the camera on every corner.

[Warren DeMontague]

68. "don't indicate how the aircraft will be used" ... Here's betting It'll have something to do with

keeping America safe from Cancer Grannies with pot plants in their back yard.

At $100,000 a minute.

[intaglio]

76. Of course no indication about how the aircraft will be used

because there are so many uses, these are not single use devices.

BTW anyone stupid enough to grow hemp in their back yard without covering it with a good size marquee can already be spotted. Hemp has a very specific infra red id (as do many other plants) and scanning for even small plots can be done at high speed from high altitude. You might get away with one or two well tended plants but any more will get you raided, this is why so much is produced hydroponically or at least in covered, artificially lit greenhouses.

[Warren DeMontague]

83. How about we fucking LEGALIZE, REGULATE, and TAX it

and stop pissing away $60 Billion a year -not including costs of incarceration, mind you- to make sure no one has unauthorized plants growing in their back yard?

[MadHound]

70. *BOOM* "Honest, I thought it was a duck!"

Seriously, I know a lot of people will think of these things as good target practice.

[WillyT]

77. Damn... The Empire Is Really Humming Along... Soon...

[nilram]

78. Hm, and any permits to news organizations to use them for reporting? Hm? HMM?

I thought not... Although the WSJ says drones have been used for reporting, the list that the FAA released doesn't have any news reporting agencies on it.

[Canuckistanian]

79. Hmmmm...

What do you think, .50 cal or maybe .416?

What would take it out?

[westerebus]

103. Ruger 10/22

Add a 50 round clip and if you can see it... just sayin

[stevenleser]

84. Remote control planes have been around for over 50+ years and you have been able to mount cameras

on them from the very beginning. There are clubs for flying these planes. http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-airplane-clubs.html

As you can see from the above link, many of these clubs have special little airfields from which the planes can be flown.

Remote control aircraft with cameras are nothing new. They have been around for a long time. The only thing that has changed is that someone affixed the label "Drones" to them and a group of folks decided to go berserk about them.

Everyone who is obsessed with drones as this horrible thing needs to repeat to themselves slowly:

"The sky is not falling, the sky is not falling..."

[Odin2005]

95. Paranoid thoughts of being watched are a sign of schizotypal tendencies.

Does anyone really think the DHS and CIA care about observing what all of them do constantly? That is simply psychotically paranoid, they don't even have the computer power to analyze all that data even if they could. It's almost narcissistic to think that you are so special to warrent 24/7 snooping by the PTB...

[Pharaoh]

85. The Fun thing is

They can be blown out of the sky with a simple 12 Gauge shotgun

[stevenleser]

89. And in the 50+ years since Remote Control Aircraft have been around, it has happened, I'm sure nt

[Odin2005]

97. Yes, because shooting down a university's reaseach drone is so Progressive!

It won't be long before some paranoid and mentally ill individual takes out a drone being used for peaceful civilian purposes claiming it was TEH GUMMIT watching him.

[n2doc]

99. We need some equivalent of a "TV off" remote for these things

See one, click it off!

[sofa king]

101. Those damned things better have propeller guards.

Because even if they claim its purpose is to identify terrorists dressed as cacti, the very first thing those critters will be regularly used for is recording and identifying participants in public demonstrations--you know which ones.

And just as certainly, sooner rather than later one will malfunction and saw its way through the crowd.

So put the guards on now, please, for all uses.

[Ilsa]

104. I wonder if we'll see an increase

in sales of gaming paint guns.

[99th_Monkey]

107. Any old gun would do

I don't even own a firearm, but this makes me want to,
so I can shoot one of those f*ckers down in flames.

If I had a rocket launcher, that would be too big.

[Jester Messiah]

110. I recommend a shotgun, for versatility.

You get the most options for your money. Bean-bag rounds, birdshot, buckshot, slugs... a load for every occasion.

[99th_Monkey]

113. +1

[stupidicus]

105. The VN war protests and the recent 420 effort comes to my mind

and of course, growing tuition costs with stats like http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014104389 this can cause a bit of unrest too.

Of course as some have noted, they have legitimate purposes as well, and those purposes are easily identified, as the nefarious ones will be, should their use result in an increase of arrests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_v._Riley in the midst of their use by universities.

Unlike the recent GPS use case http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-warrants-needed-in-gps-tracking/2012/01/23/gIQAx7qGLQ_story.html thSCOTUS ruled against on "search" grounds, in that case they've already said that survellience alone doesn't qualify as such. Rather than a GPS device, the police can just put a drone on your tail instead, as could a university for political troublemakers if their campus police wanted to, because there's no reasonable expectation of privacy in the great outdoors.

And as you might also surmise as well, the more numerous such flights become the more it supports the rationale used in the pot bust decsion, and undercuts those of the dissenting opinions as well.

SO as I'm seeing it, good intentions/uses of not, our 4th amendment rights are gonna be eroded regardless.

Perhaps maybe one of those posters whining about "paranoia" can show the flaw in my facts or reasoning here.

[Jester Messiah]

111. How long until someone figures a way to hack 'em?

The traditional sci-fi answer to drones, aside from shooting them down, is to hack them and turn them against their owners.

[stupidicus]

114. lol

I had thought about weaving that into my response as well.

I'm guessing not long after they come into common usage, and the right people get their hands on them.

The problem would be avoiding getting triangulated in the effort, assuming it would require a radio transmitter and/or gps system susceptible to such. http://www.tech-faq.com/gps-jammer.html It would carry some pretty heavy civil and criminal penalties, as it does to interfere with aviation that way already.

We should quite speculating, before big brother busts us for a conspiracy...lol

[Selatius]

118. Hacking is one possibility. You have to hack the operator. You can, however, jam the drone itself.

If you can identify the signal being used by the operator to run the UAV, you can be in a position to interfere with the signal itself or even drown it out entirely. With no directions going to the UAV, the vehicle will eventually crash. You just need an emitter powerful enough to aid the effort, and the emitter should be in a different geographic location from yourself.

[99th_Monkey]

106. "THEY" won't be happy, until we all hide in our caves, doors bolted, shades drawn ...

for fear of one of these invasive overly intrusive monsters being just outside
your window, with a DHS pervert salivating to peek into the most private and
intimate aspects of your life, like NEVER before.

Just like the TSA full body scanners, an invitation for abuse and over-reach
by our supposedly "representative" government.