In-brief: Unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by the Chinese firm DJI will be blocked from flying over the U.S. Capitol according to a statement by the company. The move raises important questions about the role that connected device makers will play in determining how, when and where customers use their products. (Update adds commentary from Justin Davis of Dronecamps.com – PFR Jan 29, 2015 17:30)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs (aka “drones”) are evolving – and fast. Just within the last five years, drones have morphed from stealthy and secretive military gear used for hunting down terrorists in the hills of Afghanistan and Yemen, to widely available consumer technology. The “consumerization” of UAV technology has created a lot of opportunities for Cool! – like this video of a UAV flying over (and almost in to) Niagra Falls. But it has also led to some problems. In March, a UAV “quadrcopter” came within a couple hundred feet of striking an Alitalia flight trying to land at JFK Airport in New York. More concerning: the FAA is set to license tens of thousands of drones for use over the U.S., many by law enforcement or private security firms. That has prompted warnings about a huge breach of privacy for U.S. citizens. But one security researcher warns that […]
