Congress report warns: drones will track faces from the sky With the FAA working on rules to integrate drones into airspace safety by 2015, the US government’s Congressional Research Service has warned of gaps in how American courts might treat the use of drones. The snappily-headlined report, Drones in Domestic Surveillance Operations: Fourth Amendment Implications and Legislative …
Tongue-in-cheek, I realize. I am compelled none-the-less to mention that I have seen this technology in action. At an NSA conference within the past year I, as well as any other participants interested, was shown a sample scenario which went something like this:
"Locate a man in his 20s with this tattoo driving a red car. Follow this car noting all of its stops. If it meets a white truck, disengage the car and follow the truck. Make note of the direction the red car takes."
Best of all, this is near the exact plain language fed to the drone's control system, along with pictures when appropriate. The drone performing this action is capable of circling and monitoring a large metropolitan area to accomplish its task. As well, the video it uses is extremely hi-def. While the actual fidelity is classified, I was informed it is well above what is capable with home entertainment equipment.
The video was incredibly impressive and frightening at the same time. This is immense power, and with such power comes responsibility.
Paris, does she watch the watchers?
Locate a man in his 20s with this tattoo driving a red car...ensure man accounts for all his time, currency exchanges and carbon footprint in next tax return else its off to the slave labour camps (prison) where at $2 per day he can repay his debt to government while enriching the private prison operators. Remember the bad people hate us for our freedoms, ha ha ha ha....sigh.
Simple solution: Don't use drones
Obligatory Judas Priest reference...
"Up here in space
I'm looking down on you.
My lasers trace
Everything you do.
You think you've private lives
Think nothing of the kind.
There is no true escape
I'm watching all the time. "
There was a tv show 5 years ago called "Masters of Science Fiction" with 6 stories introduced by Stephen Hawking, story 6 "Watchbird" was perhaps the best of the bunch and somewhat forboding as it told the story of autonomous flying drones that were developed to support the troops during battles as they were programmed to sense & shoot people about to commit crimes before they acted them out. Based on their performance in the field the government decided to use them (much to the protest of their creator) to monitor their own population as a police aid, then they activated the watchbirds weaponry...
Anything that encourages gangsta idiots who wear reversed or side facing baseball caps to wear them the right way can only be applauded.
Now we just have to incorporate Exposed Underwear Recognition (EUR, you read it here first), and they might pull their pants up and wear a belt too.
Soon there will be all sorts of countermeasures being invented. Think of this as an oblique economic stimulus package and will probably create more jobs than when Jimmy Carter opened up the rules to make it easier for micro-breweries to start up. Of course that only means that some governmental git will demand that anything that enhances privacy is outlawed.
... they wouldn't mind being able to legislate the fourth away.
The thing is, of course, that the traditional "identification first" approach invariably turns out to be rather more costly, relatively and possibly also absolutely speaking, to those who're supposed to have nothing to fear than to those who have an active interest in staying under the radar, so to speak.
... chief constables and council leaders are salivating and rubbing their hands in anticipation and eking out a pocket in next year's budget for a few of them. No doubt a good chunk of the price can be recouped selling on some of the juicier footage to Channel 5 a couple of years down the line, but if not I'm sure a few more front-line officers won't be missed nearer term. Oh joy!
Because I can smell privacy law being used to prevent anyone EXCEPT the police and military being allowed to use drones - or inevitably, ANY kind of model aircraft - because, as we all know, if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear, right?
Once again, I'm glad I never had kids. The future is a horror.
One arm of the Gov is urging us to wear hats to protect us from the evil Sun.
now another arm will be wanting to outlaw any form of head covering so that their shiny new toys might work.
Government... don't you just like them eh?
anon coz even though I'm in a basement (no not my mom's) I'll have to surface sooner or later.
Scanner (Type 1)
Combine Surveillance Robot
The basic scanner is an annoyance at best, following you around and occasionally blinding you with its camera flash. Take them out as convenient, but be careful to finish the job once you start; they ram and explode if they take enough damage.
Scanner (Type 2)
Combine Surveillance Robot
The next step up from the basic scanner can be seen dropping hopper mines into battle or using their light machine guns in addition to their typical follow and annoy role.
Manhack
Combine Eradication Robot
"Flying Blades of Doom" is an apt name for these. Manhacks are small robots that hover around with spinning blades, attacking any non-Combine they find. They are little more than a distraction on their own, going down relatively easily with a crowbar or pistol, but can be dangerous in groups.
Now where did I put my crowbar...
I'd ask the Taliban, who despite the obvious motivation don't seem to have much joy in shooting these down, despite having military grade weapons, no local government to discourage the discharge of said weapons, and typically no distracting noise from nearby highways and airports. If we believe what's in the public domain, then all of the thirty or forty drone losses in recent years have been pilot error or mechanical/electronic failure.
Arm the drones so that, if a crime is identified and there is no ground unit available to intercede/make the arrest, the drone can engage and stop the crime.
Separately, make all voting electronic. Candidates hold debates via CCTV links to limit risk from terror attacks, and all public announcements are made via CCTV, too, so the president/prime-minister is never exposed to unnecessary risk...
Sorry, was watching a film where this was the premise...
.........system online ...drone airborne...
human detected.....mobile....walking....
....engaging facial recognition.....match 75% probability known terrorist : Mustapha Leak
....arming hellfire...
.....target removed.....
..human detected......
US media reports worrying disappearances of traffic wardens, vagrants, cold calling salesman and Mormon missionaries.
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