Drones, quadcopters, and FPV flight

[5chn3ll]

And their opponent:

1008-MWBZ-faq-q1.jpg (426.95 KiB) Viewed 2474 times

[32wildbilly]

And their opponent:

1008-MWBZ-faq-q1.jpg

That was a disgusting episode. Funny but disgusting!

[32wildbilly]

5chn3ll: Are you vacationing on the Colorado-Nebraska border??

But wait: Nebraskans seeing mystery drones, too, and the law is puzzled

Lincoln Journal Star

Colorado and Nebraska law enforcement are trying to identify the pilots of drones flying nighttime grid formations.
Associated Press

The mystery drones flying nighttime formations over Colorado have crossed the border.

[32wildbilly]

Ok this is getting weird!

More drone sightings reported near Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney

Colorado and Nebraska law enforcement are trying to identify the pilots of drones flying nighttime grid formations.
Associated Press

The mystery drones that have plagued northeast Colorado and southwest Nebraska are moving east — and the Federal Aviation Administration is on their tail.

Nighttime flights by unidentified drones were reported in Hall, Buffalo and Adams counties Sunday evening, less than a week after they lit up the skies above Chase, Perkins, Hitchcock and Lincoln counties.

Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering said the drones flying over Grand Island and spotted by officers didn't appear to be involved in criminal activity, but they aren't registered locally, so it remains a mystery who is flying them. They appeared to be large, commercial models that would require a license to operate, he said.

Hastings Police Capt. Mike Doremus said a pilot reported seeing several drones flying in a grid formation about 2 miles west of Hastings at about 9 p.m. Sunday.

Buffalo County Sheriff Neil Miller said three reports of drones flying in his county came in between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday. Deputies were tracking the locations of the reports to try to identify who is flying the drones, he said.

Lincoln police have fielded no reports of sightings, a spokeswoman said Monday.

The drones reportedly have 6-foot wingspans and fly in grid-like patterns hundreds of feet in the air in groups of six to 10, officials say. The Federal Aviation Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army Forces Command have said they do not have information about the aircraft. Sheriff's officials say it appears that no laws are being broken.

The FAA met with law enforcement agencies and other government officials Monday in Colorado, and said it was trying to determine who is piloting the drones, and why.

“We take every drone-sighting report seriously," the FAA said in a statement after Monday's meeting. “Multiple FAA divisions are working closely with federal, state and local stakeholders to try to determine whether the reported sightings in Colorado and Nebraska are drones and, if so, who is operating them and for what reason."

The FAA said it has contacted drone test site operators and drone companies but has not determined if they were behind the flights. The agency also has been in touch with airports in the area, warning pilots to be cautious and asking them to report any sightings.

Meanwhile, the Phillips County Sheriff's Office in northeastern Colorado posted on Facebook that a task force has been organized and is asking the public to be on the lookout for a “command vehicle” that is operating the drones. The vehicle could be a closed box trailer with antennas or a large van that seems out of place, the post said.

Drone pilots are not required to file flight plans unless they are in controlled airspace, such as near an airport.

Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliott told The Denver Post in December that the drones remain about 200 to 300 feet in the air and fly steadily in square patterns of about 25 miles.

“They’ve been doing a grid search, a grid pattern,” he said. “They fly one square and then they fly another square.”

[gnat]

Interesting. Creepy, but interesting: https://www.sunflower-labs.com/

[32wildbilly]

Interesting. Creepy, but interesting: https://www.sunflower-labs.com/

A few problems I see with this:

#1: Apps send a text at 3:00 a.m. I tell the drone to go see and it shows me the local raccoon waltzing through the yard. I throw my phone through a wall.

#2: A real bad guy cuts the 100v power to the hive thereby disabling the drone and the brain inside the hive. Protection disabled.

#3: The drone does not appear to be equipped with a semi-fatal laser. What's the point?

[gnat]

Interesting. Creepy, but interesting: https://www.sunflower-labs.com/

A few problems I see with this:

#1: Apps send a text at 3:00 a.m. I tell the drone to go see and it shows me the local raccoon waltzing through the yard. I throw my phone through a wall.

Well since my Coonhound is a useless PITA in that regard I would actually like to catch that little masked bastard red handed!

#2: A real bad guy cuts the 100v power to the hive thereby disabling the drone and the brain inside the hive. Protection disabled.

Presumably you would have the Hive in an area that they would have tripped one of the sensors before they could get close enough to cut the power. So they'd really need to cut your power before it enters your watched zones and cutting the line at the street is a lot more challenging than at the house for your average intruder.

Also the Hive does have a battery backup, so they'd have to cut power and hope no one notices for an hour or so for the battery to run out...

#3: The drone does not appear to be equipped with a semi-fatal laser. What's the point?

Indeed the biggest fail of the product!

Hell, I'd settle for a high powered BB gun or bear mace attachment (that'll teach the kids to try to sneak in after curfew!). The AI needs to also be able to properly identify the crotch as the primary targeting zone.

[5chn3ll]

I think a tethered drone would be optimal for home security - when perimeter sensors pick up noise/motion, the tethered drone brings itself up to whatever height the tether allows and shoots video in the direction of the whatever.

Tell me more about the "embedded supercomputer" (rolls eyes dramatically).

[gnat]

I think a tethered drone would be optimal for home security - when perimeter sensors pick up noise/motion, the tethered drone brings itself up to whatever height the tether allows and shoots video in the direction of the whatever.

Tell me more about the "embedded supercomputer" (rolls eyes dramatically).

Well technically if they cram 3 or 4 RPis in there they can call it a super computer, but yeah. It suckers the people like Billy though

[32wildbilly]

I think a tethered drone would be optimal for home security - when perimeter sensors pick up noise/motion, the tethered drone brings itself up to whatever height the tether allows and shoots video in the direction of the whatever.

Tell me more about the "embedded supercomputer" (rolls eyes dramatically).

Well technically if they cram 3 or 4 RPis in there they can call it a super computer, but yeah. It suckers the people like Billy though

The "the brain inside the hive" comment was sarcasm. If it doesn't have the previous mentioned laser with the targeting option gnat spoke of it is useless to me even if it has the Deep Blue brain replica.