Clone Wars category archive

It looks as if we nay not have robotic radio-controlled delivery after all.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for Amazon to start delivering Prime orders by drone.

New rules for commercial use of drones under 55 pounds were finalized by the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday, and things don’t look good for Amazon’s planned drone deliveries.

Under the new regulations, drones have to stay within unaided sight (read: no binoculars or the like) of the pilot or an observer, even if the drone has cameras.

The FAA got this one right.

Too many members of the Geekosphere suffer from arrested development: They think like teenaged boys. “Because you can” is an insufficient reason in and of itself for doing something, especially something as stupid as filling our airspace with robots with rotating blades.

The question is not whether, it’s when: When will some boy bring down an airliner with his toy?

The pilot of the airliner “expressed his surprise” after spotting the object shortly after take-off, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) said.

He was turning right at an altitude of 450 metres (1,500ft) – a “critical phase of flight” – when the incident occurred.

The report stated that the drone was “extremely close to the aircraft”, passing just 15 metres above and 30 metres to the left.

Via Sampler, an image site (Some images NSFW).

Boys and their toys.

A (Seattle–ed.) Capitol Hill couple heard the sound of breaking glass at their home Thursday morning, prompting them to find a shattered dining room window and a drone on the ground.

The incident occurred about 7:30 a.m. near 13th Avenue East and East Aloha Street, according to Seattle police.

The couple found a white drone lying on the ground outside their dining room window, with a still-recording camera affixed to the aircraft, reports say.

Why would someone fly a drone outside someone else’s window at the time of day when most folks are getting dressed for work? Whatever might the reason be?

No one could have predicted . . . .

Police are investigating a pilot’s claim that his plane was struck by a drone as it approached Heathrow airport.

The Metropolitan police said they were contacted on Sunday afternoon by the pilot, who landed the plane safely at Terminal 5. No one has been arrested, officers said.

The flight, BA727, was coming in to London from Geneva, carrying 132 passengers and five crew.

Addendum, a Week Later:

No evidence of a drone found.

Drones beneath the sea.

Let more robotic death rain from more skies.

France and Britain on Thursday inked a deal to invest more than €2 billion in the development of combat drones, Paris said in a statement.

“We hope to proceed to the next phase in 2017 to prepare for the full-fledged development of operational demonstrators of air combat drones by 2025,” the statement said.

Details here.

Parade Magazine* interviews Mark Hamill:

Are you allowed to tell us anything about The Force Awakens?

In a word, no. They’re trying to preserve the surprise and the secrets instead of having it all come out on the Internet. I’ve never been on a movie where you have to go from your trailer to the set in a big robe with a hood on. I’m like, “Why is this necessary?” And they said, “Drones.”

___________________

*It comes with the Sunday paper, okay?

At The Boston Review, Alex de Waal questions the underlying rationale for raining robot death from the skies. A snippet:

Most of the controversy around targeted killing has concerned the legality of using lethal means outside of war zones and the numbers of civilians killed in these strikes. Another source of worry is what will happen when—inevitably and soon—other countries obtain the technology of remote assassination. U.S. actions will as precedents for these other powers.

These are valid concerns, but there are others, even more basic. We should question the logic of the drone in the first place.

Follow the link for the rest. It is worth a look.