U.S. Department of Homeland Security Seeking New Anti-Drone Legislation in National Security Effort

[James_C]

I kinda find this amusing. Drones are potentially dangerous, but its ok to have loads of guns in the USA. Yes I know that there are safeguards before people can buy a weapon in the USA, but still...

 

[IJ Reilly]

I kinda find this amusing. Drones are potentially dangerous, but its ok to have loads of guns in the USA. Yes I know that there are safeguards before people can buy a weapon in the USA, but still...

But still... what? Does the one have anything to do with the other?

 

[PracticalMac]

Good. It’s only a matter of time before they’re used for malicious reasons.

Already has.
Several times.
Bound to get worse.

Agree for the need, but careful implementation is in order, and scaled punitive laws.
[doublepost=1528321990][/doublepost]

I kinda find this amusing. Drones are potentially dangerous, but its ok to have loads of guns in the USA. Yes I know that there are safeguards before people can buy a weapon in the USA, but still...

Unlike a gun, a drone has the ability to move on its own, and can be hijacked (not easy, but not impossible).

Drones are also more likely to have a malfunction and fly into someone or something.

 

[fairuz]

Land of the free...

I think "land of the free" means if you fly one of these in the wrong place, someone is gonna use it for target practice, whether it's the government or a random person 😛
[doublepost=1528327043][/doublepost]

I kinda find this amusing. Drones are potentially dangerous, but its ok to have loads of guns in the USA. Yes I know that there are safeguards before people can buy a weapon in the USA, but still...

You aren't allowed to carry guns wherever you please, let alone threaten people with them. Yes, it's also hairy because it can be hard to prove whether someone is acting in self-defense, but you have the same issue with kitchen knives (shoutout to the UK). That's what this law is about, taking down threatening drones. It's more similar to the criminalization of shining laser pointers at aircraft.

Besides what the article said, there have been cases of firefighters being unable to fly water planes due to civilian drones hovering over the fires. At least once, they responded by shooting the drone down with a water hose. Wouldn't feel bad doing that myself.

 

[macbeta]

Good. It’s only a matter of time before they’re used for malicious reasons.

I think you'll find its already happened, the US government and others, have been using drones with malicious intent in many countries for years...

 

[LizKat]

Well it would seem that the hobby type of interest in drones may have peaked, or so it looks to Wall Street anyway (regardless of any impending changes in law although that might have something to do with it). For the firms still managing to keep doors open, a consolidation phase appears to be under way, according to a Bloomberg piece in their deals section today.

Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC Firms

Excerpt:

Some of the biggest startups began closing their doors last year after burning through hundreds of millions in venture capital poured into a fledgling industry that, despite forecasts for explosive growth, is taking longer to mature than expected. Dozens of others are getting swept up in a consolidation wave as drone companies search for a profitable niche in a rapidly shifting marketplace.

“There was some irrationality around drones, a period of hype driven by the popularity of the hobby sector,” said Kay Wackwitz, founder and chief executive officer of research group Drone Industry Insights. “We’re getting past that and people are coming back to reality.”​

 

[realtuner]

As someone who flies both FPV racing drones and camera drones:

“They can have my drones when they pry them from my cold, dead hands.”

 

[LizKat]

As someone who flies both FPV racing drones and camera drones:

“They can have my drones when they pry them from my cold, dead hands.”

I don't think anyone expects them to go away, they have proven too valuable already. Heck even around here in the boondocks there are BOCES and SUNY classes on how (and where) to fly them, how to make them, how to design them to do more things well and safely.

But the rash of drone-related startups that were getting funded by venture capitalists appears to be in the sorting-out phase already, with more consolidations to come, even as the ones that have managed to stay afloat settle in to extend services (data analysis, mapping etc) and try to make a buck so they can at least get through an IPO or get picked up for a profit.