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It seems that 'remote hunting' has been banned in various US states, although not all of them: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-dakota-

It seems that 'remote hunting' has been banned in various US states, although not all of them: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-dakota-mulls-banning-remote-hunting-internet http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-da... Obviously it would be illegal in most of Europe and probably elsewhere too. This is something I've spent a fair few idle afternoons daydreaming about, and to be honest I'm quite worried about the future possibility of semi-autonomous weaponised drones. The average HN reader probably has the knowledge and access to resources necessary to build a basic manually-controlled drone. An iPhone or even an Arduino would provide the necessary computing power for semi-autonomous activity (and a whole bunch of useful sensors, including GPS, camera etc.) and it can't be long before someone builds some open source software to enable these things to fly basic missions (go to these coordinates, film for 30 minutes, return to base, avoid obvious obstacles whilst doing so). Mounting some kind of weapon on there is a fairly simple step. You could even print the weapon parts with a 3D printer... What really scares me is the arms race that will occur when law enforcement has to deal with this kind of thing.

alnayyir 15y ago
>It seems that 'remote hunting' has been banned in various US states, although not all of them: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-da.. http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-da.... There are exemptions to most of these laws, including ones concerning "hunting seasons" for farmers. I knew a guy with an orchard who had the coveted right in Ohio to shoot deer all year long. 80% of that man's familys' protein came from those hungry deer.
- billswift 15y ago
  "Coveted" by flakes and suburbanites, maybe. If he's like most of the farmers and orchardists I know, he would probably much prefer to buy his meat and not have to worry about the deer eating his money crop. Farmers, and even just general gardeners, mostly hate deer, usually intensely.
  - Roboprog 15y ago
    I hear you about that. I have a small garden. We live in the Sierra foothills in north/central California. Usually, things are OK with the dog and people coming and going. But when we go on vacation, they tear stuff up badly. ... And I like to fly small R/C foamies, as well :-) No plans to build any flying defenses, though.
  - JshWright 15y ago
    Wouldn't it make sense that they would 'covet' permission to destroy the object of their hatred year round?
  - alnayyir 15y ago
    Deer have killed a lot of people and destroyed a lot of property. It's a coveted right for a reason. You must have a hell of a wireless keyboard, typing from up on that high horse of yours.
eftpotrm 15y ago
If you're building this for purposes law enforcement will be concerned with, a flying bomb / guided makes far more sense than a gun platform IMHO. Build a few kamikaze drones, load them up with semtex and shrapnel, put them into a steep dive from altitude over your target... (I should stress I'm a very peaceful chap with no revolutionary or violent inclinations whatsoever!)
- baddox 15y ago
  > (I should stress I'm a very peaceful chap with no revolutionary or violent inclinations whatsoever!) That's how it starts...
ilamont 15y ago
...to be honest I'm quite worried about the future possibility of semi-autonomous weaponised drones. "A future for drones: Automated killing" http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/a-future-for-drones-automated-killing/2011/09/15/gIQAVy9mgK_story.html?hpid=z1 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/a-f...

alnayyir 15y ago

>It seems that 'remote hunting' has been banned in various US states, although not all of them: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-da.. http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/north-da.... There are exemptions to most of these laws, including ones concerning "hunting seasons" for farmers. I knew a guy with an orchard who had the coveted right in Ohio to shoot deer all year long. 80% of that man's familys' protein came from those hungry deer.

billswift 15y ago
"Coveted" by flakes and suburbanites, maybe. If he's like most of the farmers and orchardists I know, he would probably much prefer to buy his meat and not have to worry about the deer eating his money crop. Farmers, and even just general gardeners, mostly hate deer, usually intensely.
- Roboprog 15y ago
  I hear you about that. I have a small garden. We live in the Sierra foothills in north/central California. Usually, things are OK with the dog and people coming and going. But when we go on vacation, they tear stuff up badly. ... And I like to fly small R/C foamies, as well :-) No plans to build any flying defenses, though.
- JshWright 15y ago
  Wouldn't it make sense that they would 'covet' permission to destroy the object of their hatred year round?
- alnayyir 15y ago
  Deer have killed a lot of people and destroyed a lot of property. It's a coveted right for a reason. You must have a hell of a wireless keyboard, typing from up on that high horse of yours.

eftpotrm 15y ago

If you're building this for purposes law enforcement will be concerned with, a flying bomb / guided makes far more sense than a gun platform IMHO. Build a few kamikaze drones, load them up with semtex and shrapnel, put them into a steep dive from altitude over your target... (I should stress I'm a very peaceful chap with no revolutionary or violent inclinations whatsoever!)

baddox 15y ago
> (I should stress I'm a very peaceful chap with no revolutionary or violent inclinations whatsoever!) That's how it starts...

ilamont 15y ago

...to be honest I'm quite worried about the future possibility of semi-autonomous weaponised drones. "A future for drones: Automated killing" http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/a-future-for-drones-automated-killing/2011/09/15/gIQAVy9mgK_story.html?hpid=z1 http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/a-f...