Warsaw protester launches drone to spy on police -- Reposting

[cyberpj]

This didn't get a lot of attention Thursday night during all of the OWS activity here so I thought I'd repost it today for more eyes to get a look-see. I don't imagine it will take very long for governments around the world to make this illegal although it's quite ingenious while it lasts!

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During protests in Warsaw last weekend, one crafty activist deployed a flying drone to spy on riot police.

YouTube user latajacakamera — or “flying camera” in Polish — uploaded the amazing video that the drone effortlessly captured as it hovered over teargas-filled streets.

In another video, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) floats in front of a formation of police in riot gear as they rush towards demonstrators. None of them appear to notice.


Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson confirmed that the flying machine was built by the Polish company Robokopter.

Watch this video from latajacakamera, uploaded to YouTube Nov. 12, 2011.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/17/warsaw-protester-launches-drone-to-spy-on-police/

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. I am waiting for some enterprising MSM type to

do the same here.

[cyberpj]

2. I was thinking more along the lines of some enterprising protester. nt

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. I did, too, But what the HELL is so wrong with MSM

that they won't even consider digging for a story, especially when the gestapo is preventing them from seeing what is going on?

[cyberpj]

6. MSM owned by the same conglomerates owning almost everything these days. nt

[sabrina 1]

10. They are collaborators. They will never dig for a story, they

do what they are paid to do. They are on the list of what is wrong with this country. When I stopped expecting them to be journalists, life became easier. The people have their own media, the MSM is irrelevant and this movement proves just how much power they have lost.

We are better off when they do not show up, because their job is to discredit the movement. If anything, we should keep them away.

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. I think that it's a brilliant idea, that and having scouts around protest areas with cell phones

to report to the centrals what cops are where, what streets are being blocked, etc.

OakFoSho and others are always (highly admirably) running down streets to note and report police presence and how that effects the ability to move and leave, for any who wish to leave...five people going out and doing nothing but reporting back about police would work wonders for co-ordination and overall intel.

The high-tech answer however IS so very sexy. Excellent toy. In the video of the cops running, I was afraid for a moment that they were going to all turn right down the street upon which the pilot sat!

[localroger]

5. It's already illegal

There is no legal niche for commercial use of a UAV; they are only legal under exceptions for the military, police, and hobbyists. That said the cat is out of the bag; you can get a basic kit to build one of these things for around $1,000 and the avionics are well proven. Since protesters are already on the wrong side of the law anyway (at least according to the police, right?) they have nothing to lose by using drones. I was wondering when someone would think of it. And while the MSM can't deploy drones of their own without getting in legal hot water, there's no reason they couldn't use footage supplied to them by an anonymous source. Could be useful next time the NYPD decides to park buses between the press and the outrage.

[cyberpj]

7. I'm not talking about commercial use - a private user (covered under 'hobbyists') might work. nt

[kentauros]

8. I wasn't aware anyone else had posted this, too!

Granted, I didn't find the first video, but found the one of the Stormtroopers double-timing it down the street. I had posted that in a rather large thread, but it didn't seem to generate any interest, and thus, "got lost". So, I posted a similar thread in The Lounge :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=2315299#2321631

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9827506


I could see more than just a single hobbyist setting up on rooftops all around the bigger protests and having one in the air at all times (while others are being refueled or recharged.) Yes, I know these "models" or "toys" (as some would call them) can be expensive, but we do have protesters that have money, too. Plus, there are some models that are actually rather inexpensive as well as at least one that will stream live to and through your smart phone as you use the same for the remote-control.

The intelligence services are working on deploying dragonfly-sized drones. We should be using what's technologically available to us, too.

[lonestarnot]

9. K & R!