Drones

[Fulvio]

the do a bit of damage when they collide with humans

Mythbusters thoroughly debunked that ages ago. Even their really heavy monster camera drone barely managed to draw blood when flown into an exposed neck.

There are plenty of misconceptions about quadcopters, but the most valid concern is privacy. Body corporates are now using them to survey skyscrapers, and residents are up in arms about the peeping tom aspect. And no matter how unfounded (think mirrored glass, reflections, curtains, etc), we all know about governments and kneejerks, right?

Still, all that said, DJI are the leaders in the field, and their new Mavic Pro is arguably the best 'prosumer' level machine in the sky. And yes, its a couple grand. This is no $20 toy. Still, that's a lot less than my mate's helicopters, which take major skills and training to fly, and aren't as smart or stable.

Check this review of it to see the capabilities minus the slick marketing hype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPG1Xa5Uqwo

[ausproofs]

Thanks Fulvio, thats the exact Drone I was looking at..  Mavic pro is not released yet in Aus. I might get one from US if I still think I need one...

[Unicorn]

Just remember not to fly it over Michael Diamond's place ....



.... oops ..... should have gone to Specsavers!

[ausproofs]

Uni.. Uni... Uni... you are a naughty boy ...

Can you imagine what would happen ? Thats what you calll blowing few grand in a second..

[Fulvio]

if I still think I need one...

That's been my stance since the first homebrew ones started popping up. I've nearly reached in my pocket a few times, and I did cause a mate to add a Parrot to his fleet of helicopters (including a real Robinson R-44). But test flights were somewhat, umm, disappointing? As was the lack of a proper use-case to justify the investment.

If I was 30 years younger, well, I can think of lots of business opportunities to build on the back of these machines. But at this stage of the game, its basically just fun, and as with everything, you can be certain people will legislate the fun right out of it sooner rather than later. And I'm not sure I could recover my investment in FunBucks™ before that happened.

But, I might pick up one of the tiny ones for twenty bucks or so, just to play with.

[Unicorn]

Uni.. Uni... Uni... you are a naughty boy ...

Can you imagine what would happen ?

:laugh2: Aus .... Just had to, it was a sitting (Mc)Duck

Twinkle twinkle little drone
Watch it wander, far from home
Up and up and all so high
'Til Michael Diamond sees it fly
Twinkle twinkle it's fly or bust
Now it's powdered, turned to dust.

[kchan1111]

https://www.choice.com.au/electronics-and-technology/gadgets/tech-gadgets/articles/drones-and-privacy-rights

Lots of rules...

[ausproofs]

https://www.choice.com.au/electronics-and-technology/gadgets/tech-gadgets/articles/drones-and-privacy-rights

Lots of rules...

Thanks K... most drones I am looking at are under 2kg limit. More importantly I will only be flying in remote or not density populated areas... mostly when I am on holidays etc... other thing is to use common sense and be respectful of people around you...

[Fulvio]

Lots of rules...

What are they going to do when autonomous swarms become commonplace? They're capable of all manner of things, including self-recharging, without direct intervention or control.

Kinda like your self-driving car returning home by itself after dropping you off at work.

[Goldseeker]

I feel that the main concern of these DRONES is going to be personal privacy.

How many people out there with nasty minds and would do anything to spy on ones neighbour because she is a good looker.

No, I think a licence to own and a licence to fly should be the first thing.

I have actually seen and filmed a drone being operated here in Melbourne when the QE11 was visiting.   The drone was flown from Princess Pier to the QE11, around the bridge of the ship, down the centre axis of the ship and back.

Question is what would security on board ship have done if that particular drone operator wanted to drop something nasty, (use your imagination), onto the ship or the passengers.

It is bad enough to have my house, and yours on Google Earth without my approval.

Privacy is gone and gone forever.

[trout]

I think a licence to own and a licence to fly should be the first thing.

Don't you think that we have enough different licences that we have to pay every year without adding more of them?
Privacy in suburbia is pretty much non existent anyway and that's why I live 30k's out of town and my nearest neighbour is more than 5k's away

Maybe a No Fly zone could be imposed in suburbia and the offending drones confiscated or shot down would stop any tom foolery with these things :angel:

[autocoupler]

I remember going to a model aircraft day with my uncle back in the late 50's, so radio controlled gadgets have been around for quite a while. I'm a little surprised though, can't remember idiots being highlighted in the news for buzzing all manner of events and local as dangerous practical jokes. Maybe I've been living under a rock for too long, a hobby will do that if you let it :huh:

[Fulvio]

It is bad enough to have my house, and yours on Google Earth without my approval.

Uhhuh.

So lets see...

We'll ban drones, cos they can take pictures.
And helicopters.
And planes. Gliders. Ultralights. Hang-gliders. Balloons (especially nasty.. you can't even HEAR them).
And parachutes, cos helmet cams.
Oh yeah, Motorcycles.
Bicycles.
Cars, cos of dash cams.
Better shoot those nasty satellites out of the sky too, cos they can read the newspaper over your shoulder.

And then phones. Computers. Google Glasses or similar. Actual cameras too.

Heck, cameras can be so tiny now that we better ban everything that might possibly carry one, eh? Birds. Cats. Dogs. Hell, lookit the size of the lens THESE guys have! They could invade your privacy from MILES away!



All jokes aside, my point is that nothing good EVER came out of letting a government issue licences for ANYTHING. Because it rapidly stops being about proficiency and becomes entirely about money. Fees, penalties, etc.

And you want to try and collect a licence fee from a five year old who just got a drone for xmas? Good luck with that. :dodgy:

[Ozcoins]

It is bad enough to have my house, and yours on Google Earth without my approval.

All jokes aside, my point is that nothing good EVER came out of letting a government issue licences for ANYTHING. Because it rapidly stops being about proficiency and becomes entirely about money. Fees, penalties, etc.

Yes!
Every idiot that wants one should have guns!  Who needs that licence rubbish.
While you are at it,  get rid of the stupid categorizing thing and everyone should have machine guns.  Why not make it  nuclear weapons?  There should be no controls on them either.....
"nothing good EVER came out of letting a government issue licences for ANYTHING"...
Maybe you should put some more thought into it?

Re privacy.
A big problem is that people have no idea what to keep private or why, or that things change.  What is OK at one time is not later on,  but you can not change what you let people know retrospectively.
People post things they should not to Facebook all the time.
Jewish people in Germany had nothing to hide when they filled in the census - until they did have something to hide. ...

[Fulvio]

http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/man-faces-9000-fine-for-using-a-drone-to-pick-up-a-bunnings-sausage-20161108-gsl3q2.html



So lets see... he flew across an empty paddock, over a road and carpark, and hovered a good twenty feet over an accomplice and camera crews. And this warrants a $9,000 fine? That's BS. Nanny State wanting to crucify someone to make an example for everyone else.

Do they even have authority over a 1.3kg machine?