Here come the drones: Hacks/Hackers takes to the skies (not quite yet)
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Journalists are often called on to report on events where a view from above would be useful. And local TV news shows have long had their own eyes in the sky with helicopters reporting on traffic or car chases.With the costs of remote-controlled aircraft dropping, along with smaller cameras and better wireless technology, the idea of using drones for journalism has become an emerging topic among the future of journalism crowd — and was the hot button issue at the latest Hacks/Hackers Bay Area event Thursday evening at Storify’s offices.
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ShareDrone Journalism: Reporting from above (with Wired's Chris …
Drones aren't just for the military anymore. … Hacks and Hackers … Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief, Wired magazine: Anderson to… -
Share“Not a thing. RT @MJ_Coren: Drones can fly over people with new permits. What could possibly go wrong. @mattwaite. #hackshackers
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One of the most well-known remote aircraft is the Parrot AR drone, which has a camera and can be controlled from an iPhone.
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But that’s just a novelty, for now, and a small hint of what’s to come. The key to the rapidly evolving field is that the technology that had previously been available only to the military is now going open source, meaning anyone can assemble their own devices, said Chris Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired magazine who is also a drone expert and creator of the DIYDrones community.
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ShareDIY DronesThe largest amateur Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) community on the web. Quadcopters, robot planes and more!
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Share““We’re open-sourcing the military-industrial complex.” @chr1sa at @HacksHackers on DIY drones.
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Share“Chris Anderson (@chr1sa) on drone development: “Game changer is open source. The technology is commoditized & democratized; cheap and easy”
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Still, that doesn’t mean progress with the technology will come so fast. Making drones feasible will require advances in materials and batteries, said Tyler Brown, who is working on the Occucopter project. On the software side, drones aren’t aware of their environment and can’t fly well autonomously, which requires advanced sensors and learning algorithms. Because of the difficulty in flying accurately, drones are involved in frequent crashes and require constant repairs.
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Share“And @mattwaite: “with drones; this isn’t Moore’s law. It’s aerospace engineering”
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One safer option for getting aerial views cheaply and easily for the moment is to simply to use a camera tethered to a weather balloon.
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Share““Want to document a protest? Attach a camera to a balloon. The rules are changed when you have a string attached.” – @chr1sa #hackshackers
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Share““if you want to monitor a protest, tether a balloon. Takes care of *all* the problems…it’s safe, it’s legal”
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There are many legal issues around drones regarding flying permits and privacy issues, said Jennifer Lynch of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The EFF is suing the FAA to get access to information about who is using drones domestically in the United States, mainly concerned about their use by law enforcement.
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Still, the potential for legal approval for more drones could come soon, as Matt Waite of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Waite founded the Drone Journalism Lab — for now is simply a desk in his office — to explore the potential use of unmanned aircraft in reporting.
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ShareUNL’s Drone Journalism Lab: First Drone Flight
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The FAA is set to rule on May 14 about expediting licensing for drones.
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Share“May 14 FAA needs to start expediting requests for licensing of drones. Hacks take note! #hackshackers
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ShareThe Drone Countdown
The Center for Democracy and Technology has written a pair of blog posts that are fantastic resources for anyone following the drone deba… -
But whatever the technology brings, for now the panelists all agreed that it was definitely unsafe to fly drones over crowds and something that should be avoided for safety reasons.
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Share“Q:”is it safe to fly an unmanned plane over a crowd?” “NO” (unanimous shout from @mattwaite @chr1sa J. Lynch and occupy guy on drone panel)
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Share“Alas. My takeaway from #hackshackers is that the tech is 5-10 years from what I want in a personal surveillance drone.
