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DJI Issues Software Update That Implements No-Fly Zones For Rio Olympics (pcmag.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the unmanned-aerial-vehicles dept.

An anonymous reader writes: DJI has issued a software update this week that prevents its unmanned aerial vehicles from flying over the Olympic venues. The temporary no-fly zones, which will be in place for the duration of the games, include Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, and several other Brazilian cities. The Brazilian military requested DJI to prohibit its drones from entering certain coordinates in the cities, and DJI complied. "DJI is proud to work with Brazilian authorities to put temporary no-fly zones in place during this important time, in order to increase safety and security at high-profile locations and reduce the likelihood of drone operators inadvertently entering sensitive areas," Manual Martinez, DJI Latin America corporate communications director, said in a statement. "The overwhelming majority of DJI customers want to operate safely and within the law," Martinez said. "And establishing clear no-fly zones helps reduce any potential for drone operations that could distract from the upcoming events."

59 comments

  1. Makes sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    None of those drones have tickets. They're not allowed. What if someone tried to infringe copyright using them?
    Won't someone please think of the corporations?

    1. Re:Makes sense. by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      They're giving a quarter million tickets away (to unpopular events) because the sea of unoccupied seats is embarrassing them. You'd think that drones flying overhead would show that someone is interested.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  2. So the terrorist can win... by Jester998 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So the terrorists win by simply not applying a software update?

    1. Re:So the terrorist can win... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or by using any of the non-DJI flight controllers. DJI is far from the total market.

    2. Re:So the terrorist can win... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pretty much, but as they say, this is mostly done to prevent average people from inadvertently flying into the restricted areas and causing a stink. (They did the same with the White House after somebody flew a drone over there.)

    3. Re: So the terrorist can win... by fubarrr · · Score: 1

      A dumb move on DJI's part. First to respond to such an idea, and then to bend over. Now, they know that at least one drone maker gives fcuk about it, and they will use this as a pretext to pester other major makers.

  3. Remember that time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When u could buy whatever u want and however u liked?
    Baaarely...

    1. Re:Remember that time by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      Pepperidge Farm remembers.

    2. Re:Remember that time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first drug laws were enacted in 1875. If you aren't over 141 years old, you don't remember a time when you could "buy whatever u want and however u liked"

  4. Software Updates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But I turned off Software Updates!

  5. Easily removed by Lumpy · · Score: 1

    There are plenty of tools to get rid of their "no fly zones" in the firmware.

    Honestly it's really stupid that they are doing this, the manufacturer is trying to enforce things? tomorrow GM will release cars that will not go above the speed limit and jam on the brakes when a light turns yellow.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Easily removed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First lets be honest here, there are literally hundreds of other "drones" that don't have any restrictions and many that don't even have GPS or flight controllers that are maintained by manufacturer. So all this is, is really just DJI pandering to the Brazilian gov and trying to hinder the stupid people, not the smart or crazies.

    2. Re:Easily removed by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 2

      I imagine it's more to keep people from ACCIDENTALLY entering no-fly zones. Yes, you can probably work around it pretty easily, but if you do you know EXACTLY what you're doing as well as providing evidence that you're intentionally violating a no-fly zone.

    3. Re:Easily removed by bondsbw · · Score: 1

      I'm all for hindering stupid people.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    4. Re:Easily removed by Kjella · · Score: 5, Informative

      There are plenty of tools to get rid of their "no fly zones" in the firmware. Honestly it's really stupid that they are doing this, the manufacturer is trying to enforce things? tomorrow GM will release cars that will not go above the speed limit and jam on the brakes when a light turns yellow.

      No, they're not trying to enforce anything, they're trying to avoid people accidentally breaking the law. I have a friend with a DJI drone, by default it goes up to the legal limit of 120m but you can easily turn that off, if you have permission or just don't care. They just don't want every doofus to try "gee, how high can this go" and crash with airplanes or helicopters or whatever through plain ignorance because if can go kilometers sideways it could also go straight up. Same thing about these no-fly zones, sure you could pretend everyone would get maps and check for airports and whatnot but seriously. You know they won't, so DJI is telling them "Hey moron, there's an airport here so this is no fly zone. Go fly somewhere else."

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  6. Simply liability by ArtemaOne · · Score: 0

    For those saying how easy it is to circumvent this update, yes, everyone gets that. The corporation is simply showing that they did their part. This removes a great deal of liability when someone violates the airspace.

    1. Re:Simply liability by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Don't be silly. The manufacturer never had liability in the first place. You don't see any calls against Boeing for making the 4 airliners that were used in 9/11. Call me back when gun manufacturers are held liable.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    2. Re:Simply liability by SilentChasm · · Score: 5, Informative

      There were at least a couple lawsuits against Boeing for just that:
      http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09...
      http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/0...

      Gun manufacturers actually have a law limiting their liability though:
      Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act

    3. Re:Simply liability by ArtemaOne · · Score: 0

      They get modded insightful when they're shortsighted and didn't know about these. Thanks for correcting them.

    4. Re:Simply liability by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

      Do you think Rio de Janeiro is in the USA?

    5. Re:Simply liability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This isn't about liability anyway, but there's more than one way to punish DJI for a drone being misused. Brazil is a sovereign country and could simply bar DJI's sales.

    6. Re:Simply liability by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1
      And the suits have gone nowhere wrt Boeing, because they have zero basis in fact. So what's your point again? It was determined that it was the airlines that didn't want to spend $200 per cabin to reinforce the flight doors, which the manufacturers had offered as an option. The airlines have a problem; Boeing never did because they would have been happy to reinforce the cabin doors and make some extra money.

      This was from a documentary several years before 9/11.

      Call me when Boeing is found liable. They never will be, and you know it. This is just lawyers suing everyone in sight in the hopes of getting paid to go away, not a serious lawsuit against Boeing.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    7. Re:Simply liability by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Why would I think that that shithole is in the US? The US already has more than enough shitholes.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    8. Re:Simply liability by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Brazil can't do shit. They don't even have enough money to pay their police and military; they would love to collect any duties from importing any product.

      Brazil is barely a sovereign country now. Look at Venezuela - a failed state that is what Brazil will look like in a few more years if things don't change. Neither country can actually exercise their sovereignty - their borders are porous, often with the police and military cooperating in the smuggling.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    9. Re:Simply liability by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

      Because you said things that were very US-centric in reference to Rio de Janeiro...

    10. Re:Simply liability by mobby_6kl · · Score: 1

      Even though Boeing wasn't found liable, they still had to deal with the lawsuits. They have an army of lawyers for that, I'm sure, but this isn't something a smaller drone manufacturer wants to deal with. Plus, you never know how the lawsuits might end up. Someone could argue that the manufacturer (like Boeing in your story) should've spent $5 to offer to implement geofencing and save are children.

      Then there's always the hordes of people completely outraged whenever a drone flies somewhere where they think they shouldn't, like in line of sight of an airplane or a park or their house. The less attention these incidents incur, the better - they already have to deal with retarded registration rules and what not, and they don't want to create a demand for more rules that would put people off the hobby.

      Of course, I'm happy to fly a manual controlled quad that does whatever I tell it to do, and as long as this option is available, I don't mind the mainstream products being a bit crippled to keep idiots out of trouble.

    11. Re:Simply liability by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Because Roi de Janero is a shithole? Even the people living right next to the Olympics are saying the same thing. And they're also saying that it's a total con job.

      A shithole is a shithole is a shithole, doesn't matter who is saying it when it's the truth.

      Even with the biggest sporting event in the world now in the starting blocks, the response to the Olympics from many in Rio de Janeiro is anger and frustration.

      At an impoverished neighbourhood not far from the city's new Olympic Park, raw sewage floats down a stream behind dilapidated housing teeming with children playing by the water, oblivious to the health threat it represents.

      "It's a total con job," said Mateus Braga, a local resident.

      The Olympics, he said, "are so foreigners can come here and enjoy it all, while Brazilians bear the consequence of the government not spending on education, health care or sanitation."

      Somewhere between $10 billion and $12 billion has been spent on the Games in Brazil, but critics say that money should have been spent elsewhere.

      Journalist and author Juliana Barbassa isn't surprised at the public fury.

      She's written extensively about Brazil's poverty and corruption in the shadow of the Games. Games sold as 'a giant urban renewal tool'

      "The Olympics were pitched to the people of Rio, sold to the people of Rio, as a giant urban renewal tool, a way to revamp the city," she said.

      "And what we got was a mega world party that cost a whole lot more than just doing those changes on their own."

      Barbassa noted the many thousands of Brazilians displaced by the Games, and two years earlier, by the World Cup of soccer.

      Even in the days before the Games opened, demolition crews were knocking down more housing to clear ground near the Olympic Village. Many of the displaced people have been given new housing elsewhere, but few seem happy about it.

      A series of new condominium-style buildings will house athletes from around the world this month, but instead of being offered afterward as much-needed housing for the poor, they're in line to be sold to Rio's wealthy.

      Half the sewage isn't treated, and even that number goes down when it rains. The hospitals don't have money for sufficient gloves, syringes, antibiotics, so they've cut the number of operations they perform in half. The police and military are corrupt. So is the government, right to the very top. The president was thrown in jail, and awaits trial.

      And it ranks worse than such notable shithole countries as Bangladesh when it comes to corruption.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    12. Re:Simply liability by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      A smaller manufacturer still has millions available for defending bogus lawsuits. So do their insurers. Drone manufacturers not so much, but the responsibility is clearly the operator's.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    13. Re:Simply liability by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Your post offends me. I'll see you in court.

      You don't need to have done anything to be on the receiving end of a lawsuit to defend. This isn't an issue of liability and not anything that any effort to prevent can avoid.

  7. i guess, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    there will be the odd terrorist-trainee who'll get a scolding for trying to keep the bomb drones on the latest firmware.

  8. TMA by magarity · · Score: 3, Informative

    At first I wondered why Dow Jones Industrial has to do with drones, but I guess DJI must some manufacturer of remote control quadcopters. Editors please make an effort to spell out abbreviations, please.

    1. Re:TMA by Kjella · · Score: 1

      At first I wondered why Dow Jones Industrial has to do with drones, but I guess DJI must some manufacturer of remote control quadcopters. Editors please make an effort to spell out abbreviations, please.

      I don't even remember what DJI stands for... it's one of those companies like AMD, IBM, BMW, IKEA etc. that are most known under their abbreviations. If you don't know them that's fine, but spelling them out don't really make any sense in any case.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:TMA by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

      At first I wondered why Dow Jones Industrial has to do with drones

      I didn't - because I read the whole sentence and then the rest of the summary. How stupid do you have to be to not be able to do that and derive the meaning from context before leaping to conclusions?
       

      Editors please make an effort to spell out abbreviations, please.

      It's not an acronym moron, it's the name of a company.

      The problem isn't anything the editors did or didn't do, it's that you have the reading comprehension and common sense of a wad of used chewing gum.

    3. Re:TMA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you spell out DJI you get Dow Jones Industrial... DJI that makes drones is just DJI, so do you want us to put spaces between the letters? D J I ? ? ? !

    4. Re:TMA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      you should check out this really great site i discovered the other day. they have all sorts of informations on there you can look for. maybe they have something on there about this _DJI_ thing you're wondering about?

      https://google.com/

      (captcha: indolent)

    5. Re:TMA by porges · · Score: 1

      "DJI, the leading manufacturer of...." -- it's pretty simple.

    6. Re:TMA by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Err DJI is the name. There's no acronym. The editors did exactly as you asked already.

  9. But, but.. by headkase · · Score: 0

    How will I get my C4 to where it needs to be then?

    --
    Shh.
    1. Re:But, but.. by WolfgangVL · · Score: 0

      Back in my day we had to use a catapult to move our explosives. Sometimes the old ways are best. Update this firmware motherfucker!

      --
      You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
    2. Re:But, but.. by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      How will I get my C4 to where it needs to be then?

      With Amazon Prime, of course.
      I hear they are even looking into using drones now to do speedy deliveries in limited areas.
      Oh, wait...

  10. All about broadcast rights, not safety by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obviously anyone with ill intent is going to bypass this without any problems. This is only about having a monopoly on recording the Olympic events.

  11. DJI is the Market Leader in Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You should be embarrassed to be on Slashdot and not know that. The fact that your not should be even more embarrassing.

    1. Re:DJI is the Market Leader in Drones by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I'm sure I can find something about geek culture you don't know, either. Not all of us are into quadcopters.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    2. Re:DJI is the Market Leader in Drones by magarity · · Score: 1

      General Atomics is the market leader in drones, followed closely by Northrup Grumman. If you don't know this you should be embarrassed to be on Slashdot.
      DJI apparently makes toy remote control quadcopters.

    3. Re:DJI is the Market Leader in Drones by PJ6 · · Score: 1

      You should be embarrassed to be on Slashdot and not know that. The fact that your not should be even more embarrassing.

      I'd be much more embarrassed to have a total grammar fail in my comment.

    4. Re: DJI is the Market Leader in Drones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I presume you mean "grammar failure".

    5. Re: DJI is the Market Leader in Drones by PJ6 · · Score: 1

      I presume you mean "grammar failure".

      No, I don't.

  12. The other reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "in order to increase safety and security at high-profile locations and reduce the likelihood of drone operators inadvertently entering sensitive areas"

    Notice how they didn't say: "and to prevent illegal recording"

    Which we all know is 99.99999999% of this; the great claim to no 3rd party recording of anything, anywhere at any time. Mostly because they want to sell you the officially licensed DVD after everything is done. ...and probably as a collectors edition for $500 a pop.

  13. Nothign to do with terrorists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and everything to do with Olympic profits and unlicensed recordings

  14. No such law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is no such law, rather the Brazilian airforce has taken the power to declare no fly zones (actually the government has bypassed the legislature using the Airforce as a puppet). They're further asking the 'government' (i.e. the legislature) to make it legal to shoot down planes over densely populated civilian areas. Which is how they would get the 'no fly' zones.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazil-declare-no-fly-zone-over-world-cup-002019482--sector.html?ref=gs

    Can't let the Olympics pass without a military grab for power, can we?

  15. FBI BurEAU HD BUREAU HEAD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yeah thanks when we want no fly zone news we can just walk into an FBI branch ok.

    stick it up your asshole slashdot

  16. idiots. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The update is irrelevant. fucktards won't update, and they'll fly over the Vika games. 3rd world olympics are irrelevant.

  17. No, they win with DIY by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    I have a drone which does all of the things which a terrorist would want out of a DJI Phantom... for an order of magnitude less money. I built it myself from very cheap parts. It's an SK450 that cost me $120 all in, including the TX. It's built from a mini KK FC and a ublox GPS module on a Neewer frame with XXD speed controllers. Straight outta china, the budget SK450. Enough oomph to carry a SLR, and running Multiwii so there's no GPS restrictions. Just plot waypoints and click go. There's even a spare PWM output on the FC for a "camera" trigger.

    That this hasn't happened repeatedly is indicative that it's not attempted often, because it's cheap and easy.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  18. Wrong Fear.. by PingPongBoy · · Score: 1

    > so the terrorists win

    Isn't it nuts? The terrorists are still winning. To stop the fear, the uncertainty, the doubt, we don't need a no fly zone. A no mosquito zone should do nicely.

    --
    Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.