Why Drones Suck for Spying Article

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After getting fed up with uneducated boneheads and their "invasion of privacy" and "spying" comments about our aircraft, I wrote up a blog post citing the top 5 reasons drones suck for spying.

Check it out here: http://www.ambientflight.com/2014/10/20/drone-paranoia/

Within a day I'd received hundreds of shares/likes on FB, G+, and twitter. Then my article was STOLEN by two websites. After some wrangling, both sites have now taken down the article. One of the sites was exposed as copying a LOT of other material and four other writers had their materials taken down.

Anyway, there are some decent points (I hope) which can be used to communicate that most of us are not flying to spy on someone, but to enjoy our hobby or do professional aerial work.
 
A decent article with all the proper cliches.
As for the spying angle, there is a video on you tube that shows a guy flying his bird in his neighborhood.
In one shot, you can clearly see a woman in a bedroom and she has no idea the bird is there watching her.
What if it catches a couple having sex? One is not generally privy to standing beside a second floor bedroom window.
What about the papparazzi nutcases?
Those guys will go to great lengths to capture a celebrity shot nobody else has.
One idiot dared to climb a high wall surrounding the property of one, taking a shot which captured two guys sunning by the pool.
Then claiming they were gay.
It's a wonder these idiots haven't used a phantom just so they could buzz some celebrity's home.

Nice article.
 
while your points are valid as far as they go, it doesn't stop anyone fitting a decent camera to a decent drone with high power radio and getting the shots people are paranoid about. our stock phantoms are not that tool, but there are drones out there that can certainly do the job https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fBblkkLECY this has the range, the camera, the flight time and because of the range the camera itself has it would be far away enough to be silent to a victim. now it will be expensive which will limit the buyers, but there are plenty of rich idiots out there. unless a difference can be stated in law they will use these pro drones to ban the little ones as we will all be caught in the same net, like they want??
 
All valid points, but what's the point? I don't think it would really convince a "non-believer". :)
You start out very well with your objection to the use of the word "drone" and say that you call it a UAV, but then proceed to use the word drone for the rest of the article...
 
I think it somewhat applies to current DJI, or very similar, offerings but not drones in general.
 
dmagnus said:
All valid points, but what's the point? I don't think it would really convince a "non-believer". :)
You start out very well with your objection to the use of the word "drone" and say that you call it a UAV, but then proceed to use the word drone for the rest of the article...

Google does not like UAV as much as the word drone unfortunately.

Regarding believers and non-believers, it is a tough sell as we all know.
 
I hear so many of you complain about people giving you a hard time when you fly. I have been flying in Los Angeles, Seattle, SanFran, and more and have never one time had anyone come up to me and complain or harass me about privacy concerns.

I dont know if its because i'm flying in larger cities where people are perhaps a bit more aware and educated on the use and feel privacy is likely violated more by the likes of Google (Google Earth) and your federal government. Also the first question i get is "You have a GoPro on there"? "Cool" Thats what i get everytime plus a small crowd taking pics here and there.

I guess my point is perhaps people who live in larger cities, being exposed to many toy quads and most owning GoPro's themselves they dont fear what im doing because they know a gopro at a few hundred feet is not really gonna put too many educated people in a tizzy because of privacy concerns.

I dont know what it is but seriously never not one time over the period of two years.
 
mediaguru said:
It is more media hysteria than people onsite.

If i were new to this and came here and read the crazy stuff people here post out of fear and ignorance i too would turn into a fear mongering non-informed "almost" pilot lol

I guess i just proved your point and i never really thought about it that way.
It's the media that has alot of guys here so paranoid but i just assumed when you put 1 ounce of reality and logic into it you really have nothing to fear if your flying responsibly in your GEO.

Great read!
 
mediaguru said:
Google does not like UAV as much as the word drone unfortunately.
Regardless of the future of the technology and the laws that will define the sUAV (the FAA's preferred term), they will always be known as "Drones" in general.
Every tissue is a "Kleenex".
Every paper copy is a "Xerox".
Every roll of sticky mylar is "Scotch Tape".

That will never change. You can preach to the choir all you want, and even if every one of this forum's users never say the word "Drone" again and the word does not get embedded in the FAR's, you will never change the public's perception that everything flying without a pilot is a "Drone".
 
mediaguru said:
Then my article was STOLEN by two websites. After some wrangling, both sites have now taken down the article.
If your goal is to spread the article, then why not invite other sites to link to the article on your website? Everyone wins. The article is viewed by more people, your name and reputation as author is expanded and your site gets SEO benefits from the link.
 
SteveMann said:
mediaguru said:
Then my article was STOLEN by two websites. After some wrangling, both sites have now taken down the article.
If your goal is to spread the article, then why not invite other sites to link to the article on your website? Everyone wins. The article is viewed by more people, your name and reputation as author is expanded and your site gets SEO benefits from the link.

I'm all for that. That's the way blogs work. The site I mentioned COPIED the text and posted it as if it was their own. No credit to the writer and no link to the original source.
 
I love this hobby as much as anyone in here. I generally agree with all the points in the article, but it's somewhat nearsighted in it's viewpoint.

We are fighting a losing war against the public, big corporations, and government. The news media is ALWAYS calling our birds "drones" and that's never going to change. We need to just give up on that front because it's a lot of wasted time. It's like saying an "Islamic fundamentalist" is not a "jihadist terrorist" --- when everyone in the media assumes the two are identical despite the technical differences.

We also need to man up and admit that spying will become a bigger and bigger problem as the technology gets cheaper and more powerful. Just because a model year 2014 Vision+ camera can't zoom in your neighbor's window to snap a photo of a sexy MILF in her undies --- it's inevitable that future drones will have 100X optical zoom capability and 8K video recording and then you can count the freckles on your neighbor's boobies while your "Super Deluxe Hyper-Ultra-HD Drone" hovers above her property at 800 feet to hide the prop noise. Anyone who denies this kind of future is living in a delusional fantasy world.

Drones are going to progress just like any other major technological invention like the Internet and cell phones --- there will be a lot of good and a lot of bad things done with them. Hopefully, most consumers and government will have a sane, rational approach to them and then our society can become more "pro-drone" rather than "anti-drone" like it is now.
 
MadMitch88 said:
I love this hobby as much as anyone in here. I generally agree with all the points in the article, but it's somewhat nearsighted in it's viewpoint.

We are fighting a losing war against the public, big corporations, and government. The news media is ALWAYS calling our birds "drones" and that's never going to change. We need to just give up on that front because it's a lot of wasted time. It's like saying an "Islamic fundamentalist" is not a "jihadist terrorist" --- when everyone in the media assumes the two are identical despite the technical differences.

We also need to man up and admit that spying will become a bigger and bigger problem as the technology gets cheaper and more powerful. Just because a model year 2014 $1,200 Vision+ camera can't zoom in your neighbor's window to snap a photo of a sexy MILF in her undies --- it's inevitable that future drones will have 100X optical zoom capability and 8K video recording and then you can count the freckles on your neighbor's boobies while your "Super Deluxe Hyper-Ultra-HD Drone" hovers above her property at 800 feet to hide the prop noise. Anyone who denies this kind of future is living in a delusional fantasy world.

Drones are going to progress just like any other major technological invention like the Internet and cell phones --- there will be a lot of good and a lot of bad things done with them. Hopefully, most consumers and government will have a sane, rational approach to them and then our society can become more "pro-drone" rather than "anti-drone" like it is now.


I agree with just about everything you say. The public calls them drones because it's easier than using a different descriptor that would cause people to think. At this point does it matter what they are called? I dont think and "Trying to fight a war" seems pretty futile and pointless.

"Drones" in the public's hands will be very closely/tightly regulated eventually. There is nothing anyone here or elsewhere can do to prevent this from happening. These things were not going to be kept a secret by our little society and now they are cheaper and better they will only continue to get more cheap and capabilities will be alot better.

Thats Capitalism at it's best. Alot of people and companies are about to get rich over the next few years and regulation is the only way to help this happen somewhat safely while our local governments get a boost in tax revenue and kickbacks.

All the while less informed people will buy these and do things they were not supposed to do regardless if there is current law or not. We all have common sense but i dont think i will every get to see society as a whole ever use it. Have we ever?

We will continue to see this hobby turn into sport, turn into something at times very commercial, and populuar. The cats out of the bag and no Phantom pilot is gonna put it back in.
 
I agree with those who say it's not worth fighting the battle over the word drone. I just wrote a novel featuring extensive use of personal UAVs in the plot, and explained the proper terminology, but the characters use the word drone most of the time. That's easier to say and remember, and more realistic. The main points in the article are valid as far as they go, and the article is well-written, but as has been pointed out, people like that woman aren't going to believe it anyway. It's called confirmation bias. People believe what already fits their world view and discount what doesn't; even educated people do this, as I've found out from sitting on a jury. As for the copying, if you really want to get the word out, let everyone copy you. Of course it's better if they give you credit and link to you, but it's not like anyone's going to pay you for that article anyway, so the important thing is to spread the truth about drones, er, UAVs. Besides, the reality is, it won't be long before some pervert or private eye figures out a way to use a small UAV to do some kind of privacy invasion that makes news. In other words, your article may be true now, but it won't be for long.
 
Unless you're the military or just lack common sense, you wouldn't use a drone to "spy" on anything. The capability to do so without drawing attention simply isn't there. Using a Phantom to spy on someone would be like putting on a clown suit to maintain a low profile.
 
ianwood said:
Unless you're the military or just lack common sense, you wouldn't use a drone to "spy" on anything. The capability to do so without drawing attention simply isn't there. Using a Phantom to spy on someone would be like putting on a clown suit to maintain a low profile.

Excellent quote. Unfortunately the uninformed think we have silent military technology.
 
Good article/blog. I wrote something similar about a month ago on an external website saying similar things:

"Ok, listen up class. This one is for the critics of these "toys". Here are some important notes:

1) A "drone" costs millions of dollars. A "toy" costs thousands. Neither owners want a "crash" of any sort. Most all care is taken to avoid such incidents.
2) Despite your narcissistic tendencies, the "toy" is not interested in peeking through your bedroom window. In fact, with any level of hearing you'd notice it before it gets within 50 yards of wherever you are - indoors or out. So no...it's not out to get "You" on camera. It's likely to be much more interested in the tree or geological phenomena you're standing next to.
3) The camera on one can see from Space, the camera for the other can't see any remarkable details outside 20 feet.
4) If you see the "toy" version and don't say "Cool! I want one", you're weird....(or you're saying "Mine's on order".)
5) If you see the "toy" version and say "Quick Marge, hide! It's out to get us!", go back to prepper school. You've missed something (i.e., you need to go over the aircraft recognition chart again.)
6) A "drone" should never be flown over our own people. A "toy" overhead should make you want to break out your best dance moves.
7) The "drone" can be armed with weapons. The "toy" is armed with a limited flight battery, limited range, and (most likely) a smiley sticker cause it's cute.

To summarize, here are visuals showing the "difference":

"
 

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