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I guess that when the vehicle isn't helping deliver communications to areas impacted by natural disasters or other emergencies, the Air Force will strap an AGM-

by balozi 9y ago

I guess that when the vehicle isn't helping deliver communications to areas impacted by natural disasters or other emergencies, the Air Force will strap an AGM-114 Hellfire package on it and have it linger over combat zones for days. I hope these college kids are bright enough to recognize that they are building killing machines unlike anything warfare has seen before.

pizza 9y ago
Related: Network of Concerned Geographers, geographers who are against the use of their research to increase military force https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/network-of-concerned-geographers https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/network-of-concerned-geo...
pulse7 9y ago
The one who will build high-capacity, low-weight batteries will also build "super" killing and "super" spying machines...
- anotheryou 9y ago
  You could rule out things by licensing.
  - theWatcher37 9y ago
    Lol, good luck holding off the US military
  - TallGuyShort 9y ago
    Except for their pretty good track record of doing things off-books when it suits them and keeping it out of a courtroom.
    - anotheryou 9y ago
      It's still a shame neither open-source nor inversities do it. Even if it's just idealistic.
      - TallGuyShort 9y ago
        The problem is, it's also ambiguous in practice. I used Colt which has a clause forbidding military applications (http://dst.lbl.gov/ACSSoftware/colt/license.html http://dst.lbl.gov/ACSSoftware/colt/license.html), and several of my customers raised concerns about it because obviously it applies to people building nuclear warheads, but does it apply to support staff in affiliated organizations? Or companies who have contracts to do logistical support for governments who have militaries? Where does one draw the line?
        anotheryou 9y ago
        Interesting to see an actual attempt at it, thank you. And ideed, difficult.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    No, you can't. You might get paid what the courts find is fair value for use of your IP, but IP rights are not an effective to prevent government use of your work. See 28 USC Sec. 1498(a) regarding patents, and Sec. 1498(b) regarding copyrights.
    - TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
      Source https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1498 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1498 It looks like you would need to have a patent. If you manage to create a magic battery and you keep the manufacturing process a trade secret, then you could disallow government use of your work. Is that correct? They'd obviously be able to attempt to reverse-engineer your product, of course. This got me wondering. Could they force someone to provide them with a license due to extreme circumstances? e.g. Time of war, magic battery can help us win.
      - dragonwriter 9y ago
        The point is that even a patent doesn't help; unlike any other patent violation, where courts can issue injunctive relief for a violation, the only remedy allowed for a government violation is a money award for reasonable compensation for the use. > Could they force someone to provide them with a license due to extreme circumstances? Basically, the cited section amounts to a blanket delegation by Congress to the executive branch of the right to use patents without license, with eminent domain-like compensation after the fact for the taking. So there's no need for a particular justification, or a license.
      - toss1 9y ago
        Yes, they can force you to provide your goods to them in any situation they declare urgent/emergency, and at priority over all other customers, even prepaid ones. You will get paid, it's not confiscation, but it is an offer you cannot refuse. I'd be surprised if the situation isn't the same in every other country -- national security/defense takes a very high priority. Moreover, any truly revolutionary technology that could create a significant military advantage will be almost required to be controlled by the mil, lest the adversaries get it. If you don't want to ever be in a situation where you could help the military of your country, you probably need to move to a country without a military. Then worry about other countries deciding to invade for your revolutionary technology.
stale2002 9y ago
Down with flying! The cult of ground knows that a pious individual stands on 2 feet.
- lvspiff 9y ago
  2 legs good 4 propellers bad?
  - stale2002 9y ago
    Omg is that an animal farm reference?
drdaeman 9y ago
It would be probably AGM-176 Griffin, not AGM-114. If the drone would be able to lift even those. Hellfires are relatively light, but I believe they're way too heavy - they're about twice the drone's own weight. I'm kind of skeptical about military use, except for possible reconnaissance.
mark-r 9y ago
Watch the movie "Real Genius" for a humorous take on the subject.
Retra 9y ago
The future will come sooner or later. It's not like this hasn't all already been imagined. And for what it's worth, we've been inventing efficient ways to kill people since day 1, and the people who invent those things tend to fare much better than those who don't.

by balozi 9y ago

pizza 9y ago

Related: Network of Concerned Geographers, geographers who are against the use of their research to increase military force https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/network-of-concerned-geographers https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/network-of-concerned-geo...

pulse7 9y ago

The one who will build high-capacity, low-weight batteries will also build "super" killing and "super" spying machines...

anotheryou 9y ago
You could rule out things by licensing.
- theWatcher37 9y ago
  Lol, good luck holding off the US military
- TallGuyShort 9y ago
  Except for their pretty good track record of doing things off-books when it suits them and keeping it out of a courtroom.
  - anotheryou 9y ago
    It's still a shame neither open-source nor inversities do it. Even if it's just idealistic.
    - TallGuyShort 9y ago
      The problem is, it's also ambiguous in practice. I used Colt which has a clause forbidding military applications (http://dst.lbl.gov/ACSSoftware/colt/license.html http://dst.lbl.gov/ACSSoftware/colt/license.html), and several of my customers raised concerns about it because obviously it applies to people building nuclear warheads, but does it apply to support staff in affiliated organizations? Or companies who have contracts to do logistical support for governments who have militaries? Where does one draw the line?
      - anotheryou 9y ago
        Interesting to see an actual attempt at it, thank you. And ideed, difficult.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  No, you can't. You might get paid what the courts find is fair value for use of your IP, but IP rights are not an effective to prevent government use of your work. See 28 USC Sec. 1498(a) regarding patents, and Sec. 1498(b) regarding copyrights.
  - TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
    Source https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1498 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1498 It looks like you would need to have a patent. If you manage to create a magic battery and you keep the manufacturing process a trade secret, then you could disallow government use of your work. Is that correct? They'd obviously be able to attempt to reverse-engineer your product, of course. This got me wondering. Could they force someone to provide them with a license due to extreme circumstances? e.g. Time of war, magic battery can help us win.
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      The point is that even a patent doesn't help; unlike any other patent violation, where courts can issue injunctive relief for a violation, the only remedy allowed for a government violation is a money award for reasonable compensation for the use. > Could they force someone to provide them with a license due to extreme circumstances? Basically, the cited section amounts to a blanket delegation by Congress to the executive branch of the right to use patents without license, with eminent domain-like compensation after the fact for the taking. So there's no need for a particular justification, or a license.
    - toss1 9y ago
      Yes, they can force you to provide your goods to them in any situation they declare urgent/emergency, and at priority over all other customers, even prepaid ones. You will get paid, it's not confiscation, but it is an offer you cannot refuse. I'd be surprised if the situation isn't the same in every other country -- national security/defense takes a very high priority. Moreover, any truly revolutionary technology that could create a significant military advantage will be almost required to be controlled by the mil, lest the adversaries get it. If you don't want to ever be in a situation where you could help the military of your country, you probably need to move to a country without a military. Then worry about other countries deciding to invade for your revolutionary technology.

stale2002 9y ago

Down with flying! The cult of ground knows that a pious individual stands on 2 feet.

lvspiff 9y ago
2 legs good 4 propellers bad?
- stale2002 9y ago
  Omg is that an animal farm reference?

drdaeman 9y ago

It would be probably AGM-176 Griffin, not AGM-114. If the drone would be able to lift even those. Hellfires are relatively light, but I believe they're way too heavy - they're about twice the drone's own weight. I'm kind of skeptical about military use, except for possible reconnaissance.

mark-r 9y ago

Watch the movie "Real Genius" for a humorous take on the subject.

Retra 9y ago

The future will come sooner or later. It's not like this hasn't all already been imagined. And for what it's worth, we've been inventing efficient ways to kill people since day 1, and the people who invent those things tend to fare much better than those who don't.