@Pavlov I'm a fan of Clarkson but he's a loose cannon at times and I think the BBC did the right thing in terminating him. He's had too many incidents in his past; at some point they had to say too much was too much.
I hate this ad so much. Were no non-racist spokespersons available? Did the production team have access to no sympathetic characters? Did the script writer(s) assume no one would notice the only clever bit in the narration is lifted from an old Far Side cartoon? I look forward to the first news item about a heroic redneck with a 12 gauge knocking one of these stupid gizmos from the sky.
@matthew Yeah, Clarkson was the reason why I stopped watching Top Gear. I wasn't surprised when he was fired and didn't care.
There is only so much they can do in the current air space. Getting a portion sanctioned for drone use would make me very uncomfortable. Also, I believe some people figured out how to hijack quad-copters in flight. It would be hilarious if someone figured out how to redirect these to a random location and drop the package.
@The_Baron Directing them to a specific location remotely might prove difficult, but using frequency jamming to drop them within 400-500 yards line of sight, well, that technology already exists (click) and is getting better all the time. Instructions on how to make your own may be found on the dark-net, the cost is about $200 give or take and full spectrum frequency hopping will add another $200-300 to the total. So for ~$500 you can drop whatever you want in-flight and in the process you can disable live video transmission back to an operator's console via secondary jamming. And because you're actively jamming, they may not be able to use GPS in real-time to find you - by the time they attempt to regain control or even locate their drone, the unit can be stripped of its payload and parts. And, if they fly a companion drone for security, you can either choose to drop that one too after the first is disabled or obfuscate your appearance and ride away on a motorcycle faster than they can fly (and you only have to out-run their fuel source).
TL;DR Yes, they will be hijacked, not only for their payload, but for their parts.
Plus, they're most likely going to injure a curious child or a dog (such as that which might hop a fence to investigate this landing in your yard). Sadly, more people will care that it injures an animal than they will someone's son or daughter. As soon as a dog gets hurt, the outcry will be deafening.
I fly drones routinely (DJI S900), but only in controlled conditions and always maintaining line of sight. IMO, it is automated, unattended flight for payload delivery and surveying (over population - not for farming) that will eventually ruin things for everyone. Their lobby is too strong to stop it.
Amazon had better keep the steaks on hand or Clarkson's liable to hit someone in the face.
@Pavlov I'm a fan of Clarkson but he's a loose cannon at times and I think the BBC did the right thing in terminating him. He's had too many incidents in his past; at some point they had to say too much was too much.
@jqubed Their insurance coverage must have been astronomical.
That drone has gotten several magnitudes larger than last prototype... but I guess it has to, they want to transport some hefty items I'm sure...
Amazon Drone Landing Page
I hate this ad so much. Were no non-racist spokespersons available? Did the production team have access to no sympathetic characters? Did the script writer(s) assume no one would notice the only clever bit in the narration is lifted from an old Far Side cartoon? I look forward to the first news item about a heroic redneck with a 12 gauge knocking one of these stupid gizmos from the sky.
@matthew
@matthew Uhhh...
@matthew Yeah, Clarkson was the reason why I stopped watching Top Gear. I wasn't surprised when he was fired and didn't care.
There is only so much they can do in the current air space. Getting a portion sanctioned for drone use would make me very uncomfortable.
Also, I believe some people figured out how to hijack quad-copters in flight. It would be hilarious if someone figured out how to redirect these to a random location and drop the package.
@The_Baron Directing them to a specific location remotely might prove difficult, but using frequency jamming to drop them within 400-500 yards line of sight, well, that technology already exists (click) and is getting better all the time. Instructions on how to make your own may be found on the dark-net, the cost is about $200 give or take and full spectrum frequency hopping will add another $200-300 to the total. So for ~$500 you can drop whatever you want in-flight and in the process you can disable live video transmission back to an operator's console via secondary jamming. And because you're actively jamming, they may not be able to use GPS in real-time to find you - by the time they attempt to regain control or even locate their drone, the unit can be stripped of its payload and parts. And, if they fly a companion drone for security, you can either choose to drop that one too after the first is disabled or obfuscate your appearance and ride away on a motorcycle faster than they can fly (and you only have to out-run their fuel source).
TL;DR Yes, they will be hijacked, not only for their payload, but for their parts.
Plus, they're most likely going to injure a curious child or a dog (such as that which might hop a fence to investigate this landing in your yard). Sadly, more people will care that it injures an animal than they will someone's son or daughter. As soon as a dog gets hurt, the outcry will be deafening.
I fly drones routinely (DJI S900), but only in controlled conditions and always maintaining line of sight. IMO, it is automated, unattended flight for payload delivery and surveying (over population - not for farming) that will eventually ruin things for everyone. Their lobby is too strong to stop it.
For those who want to see the reference:
"Blah, blah, blah, here's some actual drone footage, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."