Slashdot Mirror
Will Toys-R-Us Carry Spy Drones?
First time accepted submitter TomOfAmalfi writes "People are concerned about government use of domestic surveillance drones, but how is that different than what happens when people make their own drones, or buy them at a toy store? These units don't have the endurance or performance of the 'professional' models, but they can be useful and will get better. I can hear the police now when they realize the protesters are tracking them with toys."
An AR drone, a smart phone or tablet, a car battery and 500' of cable can be had for less than $1000 and give you a couple hours of continous run time.
You can do it now if you want.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
Yep, Barney, or Barbie Spy Drones. Can't wait.
But seriously, tech can be used for good and bad, and while it can be used by the police, it's apparent that the same tech can be used by people also. I'm sure they will scream and bitch, but will the make it illegal for civilians to use?
Be seeing you...
you can buy them at almost every other electronics store. A google search for Parrot RC drones will give you tons of hits for places where you can buy them.
Couldn't they just have a fleet of RC flying blimps to take their pictures?
Hot Wheels now makes a toy car that you can drive around and record video. It's only a matter of time before they (or another company) expands into video remote controlled planes. I'd love to fly an RC plane around a local park with my kids and then offload the video to show them what it looked like from the plane's point of view.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
If you filmed a policeman raping a women with your cellphone, they would arrest you.
http://www.pixiq.com/article/maryland-police-once-again-use-wiretapping-laws-to-crack-down-on-videographers
...when they start using it in toys.
Night vision goggles, wireless surveillance cameras, and now spy drones, all available at your local toy store.
Only a terrorist would spy on police with a toy UAV. And thanks to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, any such terrorist can be detained by the military indefinitely and without trial, even if a US citizen arrested on US soil. That should teach them, right?
If you read his post above, he's also trying to film his family members in the shower. It's possible he has some mental issues...
a nice little wireless helicopter with a camera on it, i would buzz my neighborhood, what a great way to keep an eye out for crime, (i bet neighborhood watch programs would love those things)
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
DIY drones I have seen video from there of sub $1000 UAVs that will follow a GPS controlled flight path, stop at waypoints and take video towards the desired direction. What else do you want?
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
. . . indoor only . . . playback via USB on a compter . . .
. . . or how about this one . . . http://www.pearl.de/a-NC1871-5955.shtml
. . . or disguised at a pen in you shirt pocket (very nerdy) . . . http://www.pearl.de/search.jsp?query_type=1&wtype=1&query=kugelschreiber+kamera&newff.x=10&newff.y=4
. . . and they have plenty of other cameras for businesses wanting to catch employee thieves . . .
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Some?
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
I also heard they were going to outsource production to Iran. It seems they recently developed some really advanced spy drone tech.
I have always mused about how a grass-roots citizen intelligence agency that monitors the government and it's agents might be realized. It's not a matter of turn-about being fair play, but one of the notion of checks and balances. The US system of government only functions properly to the degree that it's transparent and accountable. There's lots of practical issues, not the least of which is that closely monitoring the government or blowing the whistle can often be illegal under current law. Nonetheless, Anonymous already exists as a Citizen's Intelligence Agency of sorts, and I think that's a trend that will continue.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Custodiret eos,
I'm not familiar with the laws surrounding the flying of model aircraft, but I suspect there will be some threshold when these 'toys' are prevalent and powerful (ie. potentially destructive) enough that the FAA will start heavily regulating them, possibly requiring licensing of both aircraft and operator.
More like "hover around your neighbourhood, get photographic evidence on neighbours and blackmail them for vacation money".
You know, mundane stuff like cheating, watching porn, maybe even following the political party that isn't accepted in the neighbourhood and then threaten with anonymous exposure.
Just like blue thunder!
Most of the real predators don't shoot missiles, and none shoot bullets. Too heavy. The real killers are significantly heavier drones like reapers, specifically designed as weapon platforms.
Of course, there are also ground versions of the drones, and those can come with machineguns. But these aren't very popular (yet).
People are concerned about government use of domestic surveillance drones, but how is that different than what happens when people make their own drones, or buy them at a toy store?
I can't tell if your question is rhetorical or not, because it doesn't work as a rhetorical (the simple, obvious answer is false). So here goes the straight-man answer:
1. Private citizens are not (generally) using taxpayer money to do so.
2. Private citizens do not (generally) have the authority to incarcerate other people.
3. Private citizens are supposed to monitor civil servants even when there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
4. Private citizens are not (generally) supposed to engage in surveillance of other private citizens under any conditions.
5. Civil servants are not supposed to engage in surveillance of private citizens without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
6. Civil servants are not supposed to buy or build things unless it is the public will that they do so (this can be an implicit will interpreted by civil leaders such as chiefs of police).
7. Private citizens are not supposed to be inhibited in buying or building things unless the thing in question has been specifically regulated through the legislative process or other due deliberative process authorized by the people.
Hope that helps.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
Or mebbe its jest that his sister is HOT!!!!!OMG!!!!
In Soviet Russia, citizens spy on police!
Fry's Electronics in Phoenix this morning had a camera mounted on a helicopter buzzing through the store. The big flat-screen next to the 'ad' board was quite discombobulating to watch...
Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments...
Since such actions may affect national security, we better redefine controlled airspace as anything "50 or more feet above the average natural or man-made object height within in any 250' radius from the device in question." By doing this we can eliminate: uncontrolled private aircraft (ie; Cessna fuel bombs), terrorist-centered high-powered rocketry (why would any 'normal' citizen need to launch any device over 250' in the air), surveillance drones (including all forms of remote-controlled aircraft, again, why would any 'normal' citizen need to pilot a 1/24th scale flying model for ANY reason, other than terrorism training), parachuting, etc..
Of course, there will be law enforcement exceptions.
Toil is Stupid. Don't be Stupid.
This happened in Russia already. There was something of a flap over a small UAV observing pro-democracy protests in Moscow. But it wasn't the Government doing it. It was a group of bloggers with a model helicopter, and here are the pictures it took.
The Parrot AR.Drone:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11787331
However, calling these things spy cams is sensationalizing and fearmongering. This is a non-story.
Do you remember the caption at the beginning of that movie? IIRC, it was something like, "The weapons and systems depicted in this movie are real and in use today." At the time, I was like, "Yeah, right" but middle-class hobbyists today have access to surveillance equipment that is every bit as good -- if not better -- than the surveillance equipment on Blue Thunder, and they are just about as quiet as . 'Course, I've yet to see a DIY Drone that carries a gun like Blue Thunder had ;)
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
Inb4 CIA's "We'd never suspect that": C4+remote detonator.
Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.
Apparently you haven't been paying attention, local and state governments are already using drones, and the military gleefully loans them out domestically to law enfarcement. Nothing on your list is new, that's all been happening since the days of your great-great-great-great grandpappy and creation of a police state was never necessary prior to today.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
The difference between civilians having spy drones and law enforcement having spy drones is that law enforcement has the right to enforce the law, with physical force, and not be punished (unless obviously excessive). Civilians, on the other hand, are "vigilantes."
Yeah, for example they have to enforce the law that the only position you may have sex in is the missionary position. So don't complain about the police spy drone in your bedroom. :-)
It came in through the Windows?
Or use an R/C blimp to stay aloft for days. And silently. A dark and silent drone blimp might fly undetected on a moonless night, even at just a few meters above the surface. Equipped with a FLIR camera you could gather all sorts of evidence. Or you could make the blimp look like a hanging plant and have it perch against just about any surface. Or use the plane or blimp to drop surveillance bugs that could include camera's, microphones, and transmitters to spy just about anywhere. By the time the bug is identified the damage to the target may already be done.
Imagine a bug camouflaged as a lump of coal dropped down a chimney. Or an R/C surveillance car dropped down a chimney to rove around inside a building. There may be some technical challenges, but definitely within the capabilities of a determined and skilled hobbyist. The possibilities are only limited by creativity. Makes you wonder what the CIA is up to these days.
who's going to stop us from watching them?
The cop with the shotgun that blows your $1000 toy out of the air because it's a "public hazard".
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
Air Hogs has a pair of helicopters with a "laser tag" type of function. When "hit" with the laser, the helicopter descends to the ground to simulate a kill. Makes for great two player action.
There were some people where I work toying around with the idea of putting those pen-cams on sharks to find out what they are doing out at the 'white shark cafe'. Toys and science, the best of bedfellows.
horror vacui
who's going to stop us from watching them?
The cop with the shotgun that blows your $1000 toy out of the air because it's a "public hazard".
Or me with a shotgun that blows your $1000 toy out of the air because it's a "public nuisance".
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
In that case, wouldn't you rather use use laser pointers?
Toy helicoptors with camera and various remote capabilities. ;)
I'm tempted
And it needs to happen post-haste. The US govt, with its passage of the NDAA (the military can arbitrarily arrest you and put your ass in GitMo) and other recent atrocities, is wildly out of control. D.C. and the 1% know their comeuppance is due, and they will slaughter any untold number of us to forestall that.
The American people need to take their country in hand again, no matter what it takes. Intel is the first step.
God Bless America, and keep her safe from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
I know of no hobbyist equipment that both sees people on the other side of a wall, and pulls audio through a wall...
when you make a point with gross exaggeration, you damage the weight your argument holds...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
I have a toy, called a sling-shot, that will render your flying spy drone toy useless long before its batteries run out. My toy has centuries of R&D ahead of your flying robotic spy drone.
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
family members? you sick fuck
insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
ever heard of flying kites? moron
insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
I have often wondered why the paparazzi don't use this for celeb weddings and such, I would also add that these "consumer drones" are easy to take out, simply flood the area with the same frequency the drone operates on and it crashes.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
ever heard of flying kites? moron
That would also need to be banned, under the same set of rules. Kites are a security threat and must be stopped.
And while we're at calling people names, I'll add:
hot air balloons
blimps/lighter-than-air ships
paper airplanes
ski flying/jumping (and all other winter 'off the ground' sports)
skeet shooting (if the clay pigeons go higher than 50' above the nearest obstacle)
motocross
extreme pogo-sticking
trolling
Toil is Stupid. Don't be Stupid.
...and creation of a police state was never necessary prior to today.
Since when was this ever necessary?
There are two issues that remain unsolved before the drones are good enough for this to become a real game changer (for good and bad):
1. the stationary drones are too noisy since they're choppers.
2. the battery life is horrendous. usually around 10-15 min mark when what is needed is several hours.
Get one of the little jobbies and put a Hero cam on it
You want me to put a Hero cam on *what*??!!
A shotgun? Good luck with that. You might want to review some of the videos posted here. Many of those planes operate at altitudes well outside the nominal range of a shotgun.
All the world's an analog stage, and digital circuits play only bit parts.