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I agree on the need to create an ESP32 equivalent. But the ESP32 doesn't really correlate to DJI here. DJI collects a massive amount of telemetry data and terra

by brk 9mo ago

I agree on the need to create an ESP32 equivalent. But the ESP32 doesn't really correlate to DJI here. DJI collects a massive amount of telemetry data and terrain data, forces the average user to upload this data, and isn't exactly forthcoming about what is collected or how it is used. An ESP32 can, for the most part, be fully audited in what it is sending. Yes, the wireless drivers are binary blobs, but the developer has extensive control over the device, and it is easy to monitor/filter/firewall the data sent. 3D printers, as a general category, are also more similar to the ESP32 than to DJI.

barbazoo 9mo ago
> DJI collects a massive amount of telemetry data and terrain data At first I found it hard to believe that this is data they wouldn't get more reliably, more extensively from a satellite. But then I imagine, if you were a bad actor, you wouldn't want all the video, all the exact terrain data, etc, but maybe only that near certain points of interest like energy infrastructure, transportation, etc. So this, paired with satellite data is super powerful. Then again, for most of the US, Google street view exists so there's that, a lot of the data is already out there.
- sroussey 9mo ago
  And China has its own satellites anyhow. I feel like blocking DJI is just politics of “we have have to do something, anything” and “hey look, we did things” even though those things are irrelevant.
- brk 9mo ago
  You are right. Also, it's not just data from the US, it's data from around the world. It also comes in real-time or near real-time, so you gain insight into where drones are actively flying. If you've managed to fingerprint interesting users in some way, you now have stats on where they are, what they are deeming interesting to look at, and so on. You're also getting much better imagery and views of things you are not going to get from a satellite. This is not about recreating google maps data. The US banning DJI drones is really a necessity at this point. It's not a complete solution to the problems at hand, but there is no point in supporting China in this way.

by brk 9mo ago

barbazoo 9mo ago

> DJI collects a massive amount of telemetry data and terrain data At first I found it hard to believe that this is data they wouldn't get more reliably, more extensively from a satellite. But then I imagine, if you were a bad actor, you wouldn't want all the video, all the exact terrain data, etc, but maybe only that near certain points of interest like energy infrastructure, transportation, etc. So this, paired with satellite data is super powerful. Then again, for most of the US, Google street view exists so there's that, a lot of the data is already out there.

sroussey 9mo ago
And China has its own satellites anyhow. I feel like blocking DJI is just politics of “we have have to do something, anything” and “hey look, we did things” even though those things are irrelevant.
brk 9mo ago
You are right. Also, it's not just data from the US, it's data from around the world. It also comes in real-time or near real-time, so you gain insight into where drones are actively flying. If you've managed to fingerprint interesting users in some way, you now have stats on where they are, what they are deeming interesting to look at, and so on. You're also getting much better imagery and views of things you are not going to get from a satellite. This is not about recreating google maps data. The US banning DJI drones is really a necessity at this point. It's not a complete solution to the problems at hand, but there is no point in supporting China in this way.