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Air Drones to Invade the Planet... Now
Posted by Jesus Diaz at 1:30 AM on November 22, 2007
One of the most shocking things about the Dubai Air Show was the drones. Drones everywhere. Drones in every single booth, drones on the runway, drones in my coffee. Everyone wanted a drone, for surveillance, spying on their neighbouring country, starting a war, helping soldiers or to take it out for drinks. The fact is that automated aircraft are the new buzzword in aviation:
With lighter, stronger materials and advanced electronic components available at cheap prices, even aficionados can build these glorified model planes. At the show, not only Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman or BAE had these machines available. Small companies offered them as well.
Granted, all of these drones aren't equally smart, but whereas they are fully automated, semi-automated or remote controlled, these aircraft are taking a centre role in the battlefield. Infantry soldiers carry and use them as reconnaissance tools, while the bigger, more lethal models like the Predator or the Reaper can actually give air support to ground troops. And in peace time, they provide with an advance, low-cost surveillance method for police forces.
Scary idea? It is. I want one.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
tamoko
Posted 3:05 PM 21/11/07
@joelja: I was just thinking that too. There was a news piece this morning about Columbian cartels using small snorkeling submarines to bring tons of coke into the US. The Columbian police have found almost a dozen of them in various states of construction. Can drones packed with coke really be that far behind?
tamoko
DrChaos
Posted 2:52 PM 21/11/07
that video is why I love gizmodo
DrChaos
blacksmith_tb
Posted 2:11 PM 21/11/07
@Laupan - I'm more worried about them flying into other aircraft, especially those that happen to be full of people. My impression is that military drones tend to be used in airspaces that are unlikely to have other planes in them.
blacksmith_tb
jesusdiaz
Posted 2:04 PM 21/11/07
@RedBeard: It's a cover of the Futurama theme by the Beastie Boys.
jesusdiaz
heroineworshipper
Posted 2:01 PM 21/11/07
Aviation isn't the future. Web 2.0 is.
heroineworshipper
RedBeard
Posted 1:52 PM 21/11/07
hahah this video is set to a version of the futurama intro song. you can hear bender telling everyone to do the robot and the crash of the planet express ship into the screen.
RedBeard
Empire
Posted 1:25 PM 21/11/07
So pretty soon we'll have drones and anti-drones and robots fighting other robots and eventually someone will figure out that, since no actual soldiers are being killed anymore, it would be far more cost-effective to fight all our wars on the XBox.
Empire
Crominator56
Posted 12:40 PM 21/11/07
So we have squad based surveillance in the numerous micro UAV's, and anti-armor in the Predator/Reaper... What about a squad based gunship? Launch it off the back of a hummer with a 249 on it, now the captain can walk softly AND carry a big stick.
Crominator56
STACKYBOTRUS
Posted 12:22 PM 21/11/07
Whats up withall the AYE-RABS?
STACKYBOTRUS
joelja
Posted 12:15 PM 21/11/07
drones will end up being the new smuggling tool of choice assuming they aren't already...
joelja
whootowl
Posted 12:14 PM 21/11/07
@Maksimir: Price of vapors goin up.
whootowl
Mecharine
Posted 12:10 PM 21/11/07
@Maksimir: For a minute I thought you said "wild wife". It would be useful to have aerial drones track those too.
Mecharine
Tolgak
Posted 11:57 AM 21/11/07
@onidavin:
Might as well play x-plane.
Put me in the damn thing!
Well, only the ones that can make boom on ground.
Non-pilot engineers can have the surveillance planes. But leave the 'splosions and the barrel rolls to willing people please.
Tolgak
LauPan
Posted 11:46 AM 21/11/07
Great, as long as we do not see them flying into any of our buildings.
LauPan
Maksimir
Posted 11:32 AM 21/11/07
Beyond the military aspects, I can see governments using these for everyday tasks like monitoring traffic, or cops using them to follow suspect cars, or even tracking wild life. I say bring on the drones!
Maksimir
strider_mt2k
Posted 11:29 AM 21/11/07
Insert "Deal of the Century" reference here.
strider_mt2k
onidavin
Posted 10:49 AM 21/11/07
@Tolgak: One UCAV is actually piloted by several crew members remotely. So it's like the engineers are sharing! :D
onidavin
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 10:40 AM 21/11/07
Dildos with wings!
Kaiser-Machead
Gann
Posted 9:38 AM 21/11/07
Do they make drones that will go get your starbucks in the morning?
Gann
The_Triton
Posted 9:38 AM 21/11/07
Does this mean that I will now have to cover my roof with tin foil?
The_Triton
agrajag42
Posted 9:38 AM 21/11/07
Wow - drones everywhere you say? Sounds like tech blogs on an Apple product release day!
(sorry, it was too easy)
agrajag42
eaglei20200
Posted 9:35 AM 21/11/07
Remember the movie of 1984--all the little airborne surveillance gadgets hovering around? (Wish I could remember if the technology was specified in the book.) At least for now most of the things probably make some noise.
Does anyone make a sound-activated drone alert gizmo, at least to tell you if one of these things is circling your neighborhood or your pool?
My workplace is a school. I am trying to imagine one of these things flying perimeter patrol all day--perhaps tracking RFID movement off campus. Not a very pleasant picture, despite all the cool little Gizmodo videos of very fun-to-use tiny R/C helicopters with teeny cameras aboard.
eaglei20200
omg-ponies
Posted 9:29 AM 21/11/07
@EMoShunz: As long as they don't start looking like HKs, we should be safe.
omg-ponies
AndersonBMX
Posted 9:26 AM 21/11/07
man is obsolete
AndersonBMX
Tolgak
Posted 9:19 AM 21/11/07
It's a way of engineers getting back at the people who actually get to do cool stuff with what they build.
You know. It's the whole "If I don't get to eat the cake, nobody gets to eat the cake!" thing.
Tolgak
EMoShunz
Posted 9:09 AM 21/11/07
______________________insert skynet comment here :P
EMoShunz
Maksimir
Posted 11:52 AM 22/11/07
So it begins: [www.click2houston.com]
Maksimir
gary_7vn
Posted 5:30 PM 22/11/07
@ EAGLEI20200
Drones in 1984? I don't remember that. And no, they were NOT in the book. Do you mean the 1984 made in 1984 with Burton and Hurt?
The real question about drones is how they change the ethics of war. It's one thing to invade or attack a country where your people are at risk. But with the advent of robots and rpv's changes everything. Will we use kids to control these things? Or just program them with a picture of a guy with a beard and turn em loose.
Drones and robots change everything.
gary_7vn