Slashdot Mirror
Sochi Drones Are Shooting the Olympics, Not Terrorists
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Rachel Feltman reports that drones are being used to film ski and snowboarding events at the Winter Olympics in Sochi and unlike military drones, which often look like a remote-controlled airplane, the creature floating around Sochi resembles a huge flying spider. The legs of the flying spider hold the rotors that spin around to keep it airborne. The drone then has a flight deck that holds the flight control system with GPS for navigation, sensors and receivers. The camera can be mounted in the middle or suspended below the flight deck. A drone with mounted camera can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $37,000 for a top-of-the-line Ikarus from Britain's Heliguy, which is advising broadcast clients in Sochi on using drones. That compares with the cost of a few thousand dollars an hour to rent a helicopter with pilot, not including the camera crew and equipment. Cameraman Remo Masina says he can fly a drone at up to 40 mph while transmitting a high-definition, live image and says the chances of drone crashes are close to zero when a drone is handled by an experienced pilot, because the drones are programmed to return to base at the slightest problem — such as a low battery, rough winds or a malfunction. 'There have been mishaps, however. In one case last year, a drone filming an imitation version of Spain's running of the bulls in Virginia crashed and injured a few spectators.'"
Ugh. Close to zero chance but then tells of crash.
Be fair - he said "close to zero when a drone is handled by an experienced pilot". We don't know who was flying the drone in that crashed in Virginia!
So the cost of PURCHASING a drone is about the same as RENTING a helicopter for the same time? With the drone, of course, being re-usable, and creating significantly less impact when comparing the results of a potential crash, and can get much MUCH closer to the action.
This is seriously the best of all worlds. Now if only we can get away from the mainstream stigma of the term "Drone", such as going back to the term UAV instead? Really, the only down-side is ignorant media perception of these devices.
The automatic recover features are worth mentioning. It reduces the risk of danger due to human error, or signal loss: those are inevitable in a crowded environment with thousands of cameras and radio transmitters saturating the airwaves legally and illegally.
My concern would be about the ability to hijack the drones, and about getting the crowds used to low flying remote controlled aircraft. Similar, unauthorized dromes could be reloaded with light and bring it near the crowds or athletes from well outside of any reasonable security perimeter.
I'd hope that drone control systems are using encryption by now (though, given that military Predators and Reapers were, at least originally, being sent up with what was essentially a lightly modified satellite TV transmission system, easily attacked with the tools used for pirating satellite TV, I wouldn't bet too much money on it). As for malicious payloads... I'm glad that I'm not a VIP, and that the world is (all impressions to the contrary) apparently made largely of people who are either decent, painfully incompetent, or lazier than they are malicious.
If it were my job to guard somebody who occupies an office with, um, 'high medical turnover', I'd be shitting myself about the capabilities that drones bring to the table. Since I'm not, nor do I occupy such an office, I take comfort in the fact that bombings and similar incidents of all types are statistically well below my preference for video games and coding rather than exercise in terms of mortality risk, and that (to my knowledge) a drone has yet to be involved in such an attack, except as an agent of state force and under color of something vaguely resembling 'law'.
PITA has been known yo use octocopters to tresspass on private land durring hunting season to harrass game or hunters or record what they think is abhorent behavior. Slashdot even carried a story a while ago about a hunting club doing a pideon shoot being harrassed by them and shooting the copter.
If i wasn't on my phone i could post a link. I think you were joking but i wanted to reference that in case others didn't know about it.
When it comes to crazy, I'm not sure that even the Russians, back in their glory days of dubiously-wise white elephant weapons have anything on Project Pluto... I have to admire the sheer craziness with which they operated back in the day; but I can't say that I'm sorry to have missed the Cold War's greatest hits outside of playing Fallout.
As for 8-engined helicopters, my naive-because-it-isn't-his-problem! engineering assessment is that you could probably build one by bolting together enough lesser helicopters and borrowing the feedback/stability control systems from the little octocopters; but barring a contract to airlift an oil rig, assemble a prefab skyscraper like a layer cake, or some other slightly nutty project, I'm having a hard time thinking of what you would use such a monster for...
Digital media giant cameras still cost a dam site more than your consumer HD video cam then theres the survive X windspeed, X amount of snow, etc stability of shot with only X shake dont forget the other costs which go with building something then add the mark up so the company makes a proffit and $37000 sounds quite cheap.