5 ms·

so how long before a) buying one puts you on a list b) you are required a license to fly one, anywhere c) you are required a license to buy, let alone fly on

so how long before a) buying one puts you on a list b) you are required a license to fly one, anywhere c) you are required a license to buy, let alone fly one

splatsearch 12y ago
you need a licence and permission to fly one in Spain already
- seanp2k2 12y ago
  How would they enforce this without tracking everything larger than a small bird via radar or satellite?
  - splatsearch 12y ago
    i dont know how they enforce it but its a law. Spanish law works different from most countrys. They have laws to say what you can do rather than what you cant. The law is you need a licence.
pavel_lishin 12y ago
I'd imagine that 3D printing is already good enough to print most of a drone; the only things you'd need to order would be wires, a control board (arduino?) and motors.
- miahi 12y ago
  You usually need something strong for the frame; big drones are carbon fiber - and I don't think you can print anything like it right now. Other things on the parts list are the motor controllers (motors are controlled by current, and you usually need at least 40Amps for each), battery and sensor board (GPS, compass, 3D acceleration and gyro).
  - baddox 12y ago
    There's no need for carbon fiber, and besides, you can buy carbon fiber beams and poles that are used for much more than just RC aircraft. Any multirotor frame you can build with carbon fiber you could build with fiberglass, aluminum, or even wood and plastic without significant performance reduction that would be relevant to hauling drugs short distances.
  - Htsthbjig 12y ago
    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267008 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267008 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:171474 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:171474 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:175073 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:175073 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:241055 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:241055 https://www.youmagine.com/designs/drone-race-w4-drw4 https://www.youmagine.com/designs/drone-race-w4-drw4
ChuckMcM 12y ago
Well its been "possible" for a long time (over 10 years) using fixed wing craft. My favorite was this story: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/model-airplane-history-maker-maynard-hill-dies-at-the-age-of-85/2011/06/08/AGcnyQNH_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/model-airplan...) which talks about the guy who flew an RC model across the Atlantic in 2003. That said, basic police work can still generally track the origin of a drone back to when it was built/sold. Every electronic component has a date code, and there are records of sales all along the way. That can tie it to a location/purchase, in store surviellance can often provide images of buyers, (mail/internet order is even easier) and get back to who had the drone to begin with. At the end of the day, the higher the tech 'toys' used in a crime the easier it is for law enforcement to figure out who did it.
- mindcrime 12y ago
  Every electronic component has a date code, and there are records of sales all along the way. I have a feeling that if you buy your electronic components this way: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&categoryName=cat_2010&subCategoryName=Passive%20Components%20%2F%20Assortments%20%2F%20Grab%20Bags&category=201020 http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalog... it's a bit harder to trace an individual component back to the purchaser. Especially something like this: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_135263_-1 http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_1000...
  - ChuckMcM 12y ago
    No doubt. And if you were really trying to be stealthy you would open up an "e-waste" store and use it to collect things which you could scavenge parts out of. (would make for some good fiction as well). Thinks like GPS units are hard to get in junk bags, but easy to pick up at a recycling store out of an old phone (assuming it isn't part of the SOC). But the point remains that all of those things have 'tendrils' and the mosaic effect is very real.
  - seanp2k2 12y ago
    Most of what you need to build an autonomous air vehicle is already in your phone: https://code.google.com/p/andro-copter https://code.google.com/p/andro-copter What are you going to do, restrict brushless DC motors, LiPo batteries, carbon fiber tubing / ABS plastic, and small propellers (they still use wooden ones on some planes, which would also work on quads) ?
miahi 12y ago
You can always build a multicopter with parts that are not specifically made for drones, so they cannot enforce this. And when you deal drugs, smuggling a drone is the easy part.
Phlarp 12y ago
As someone who recently picked up the multi-copter hobby, I would say I want people to have to register/license these things. Previously I might have scoffed at the "flying lawnmower" meme, but it is absolutely the truth. Even the small 250mm mini sized quads are massively dangerous and the larger octocopters are downright scary. They move fast and 10" carbon fiber blades spinning at 8000rpm connected to a 5lbs drone could all but decapitate a human. One GPS glitch and the thing might go full speed toward your face, or a kid on a bike, or the neighbors dog / beamer / house. How much do you trust GPS and hobbyist open source flight control code? I trust it enough to fly around an empty park, but I'd never want it near my cat. With the prices for entry level models coming low enough to compete with an ipad or other consumer electronics, I can't help but think how scared I would be of teenagers flying these things around my neighborhood, let alone the hazards with wide scale deployment of automated drones for deliveries.
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  My favorite battlebots story was from a teen who built a 'spinner' and early in their testing they lost a nut when the blade was in full spin. It left a hole in the siding of his garage as if someone had shot a bullet out of the house, 14" off the floor. Fortunately nobody was hurt. He did all future tests in a drained swimming pool.
  - bsder 12y ago
    Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage had their robot Blendo removed from competition twice because it was too dangerous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendo
    - Phlarp 12y ago
      This is just so awesome.
  - sanoli 12y ago
    > early in their testing they lost a nut I'm glad I read this till the end. For a moment there I was thinking the kid had actually lost, you know, one of his nuts.
tw04 12y ago
With the number of idiots that have already almost collided with commercial aircraft, I think the drug connection is the least of our worries. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/near-collisions-between-drones-airliners-surge-new-faa-reports-show/2014/11/26/9a8c1716-758c-11e4-bd1b-03009bd3e984_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/near-c...
avinassh 12y ago
This reminds of South Park episode on the drones: http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s18e05-the-magic-bush http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s18e05-the-magic-bush

so how long before a) buying one puts you on a list b) you are required a license to fly one, anywhere c) you are required a license to buy, let alone fly one

splatsearch 12y ago

you need a licence and permission to fly one in Spain already

seanp2k2 12y ago
How would they enforce this without tracking everything larger than a small bird via radar or satellite?
- splatsearch 12y ago
  i dont know how they enforce it but its a law. Spanish law works different from most countrys. They have laws to say what you can do rather than what you cant. The law is you need a licence.

pavel_lishin 12y ago

I'd imagine that 3D printing is already good enough to print most of a drone; the only things you'd need to order would be wires, a control board (arduino?) and motors.

miahi 12y ago
You usually need something strong for the frame; big drones are carbon fiber - and I don't think you can print anything like it right now. Other things on the parts list are the motor controllers (motors are controlled by current, and you usually need at least 40Amps for each), battery and sensor board (GPS, compass, 3D acceleration and gyro).
- baddox 12y ago
  There's no need for carbon fiber, and besides, you can buy carbon fiber beams and poles that are used for much more than just RC aircraft. Any multirotor frame you can build with carbon fiber you could build with fiberglass, aluminum, or even wood and plastic without significant performance reduction that would be relevant to hauling drugs short distances.
- Htsthbjig 12y ago
  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267008 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267008 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:171474 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:171474 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:175073 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:175073 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:241055 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:241055 https://www.youmagine.com/designs/drone-race-w4-drw4 https://www.youmagine.com/designs/drone-race-w4-drw4

ChuckMcM 12y ago

Well its been "possible" for a long time (over 10 years) using fixed wing craft. My favorite was this story: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/model-airplane-history-maker-maynard-hill-dies-at-the-age-of-85/2011/06/08/AGcnyQNH_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/model-airplan...) which talks about the guy who flew an RC model across the Atlantic in 2003. That said, basic police work can still generally track the origin of a drone back to when it was built/sold. Every electronic component has a date code, and there are records of sales all along the way. That can tie it to a location/purchase, in store surviellance can often provide images of buyers, (mail/internet order is even easier) and get back to who had the drone to begin with. At the end of the day, the higher the tech 'toys' used in a crime the easier it is for law enforcement to figure out who did it.

mindcrime 12y ago
Every electronic component has a date code, and there are records of sales all along the way. I have a feeling that if you buy your electronic components this way: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDrillDownView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&categoryName=cat_2010&subCategoryName=Passive%20Components%20%2F%20Assortments%20%2F%20Grab%20Bags&category=201020 http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalog... it's a bit harder to trace an individual component back to the purchaser. Especially something like this: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_135263_-1 http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_1000...
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  No doubt. And if you were really trying to be stealthy you would open up an "e-waste" store and use it to collect things which you could scavenge parts out of. (would make for some good fiction as well). Thinks like GPS units are hard to get in junk bags, but easy to pick up at a recycling store out of an old phone (assuming it isn't part of the SOC). But the point remains that all of those things have 'tendrils' and the mosaic effect is very real.
- seanp2k2 12y ago
  Most of what you need to build an autonomous air vehicle is already in your phone: https://code.google.com/p/andro-copter https://code.google.com/p/andro-copter What are you going to do, restrict brushless DC motors, LiPo batteries, carbon fiber tubing / ABS plastic, and small propellers (they still use wooden ones on some planes, which would also work on quads) ?

miahi 12y ago

You can always build a multicopter with parts that are not specifically made for drones, so they cannot enforce this. And when you deal drugs, smuggling a drone is the easy part.

Phlarp 12y ago

As someone who recently picked up the multi-copter hobby, I would say I want people to have to register/license these things. Previously I might have scoffed at the "flying lawnmower" meme, but it is absolutely the truth. Even the small 250mm mini sized quads are massively dangerous and the larger octocopters are downright scary. They move fast and 10" carbon fiber blades spinning at 8000rpm connected to a 5lbs drone could all but decapitate a human. One GPS glitch and the thing might go full speed toward your face, or a kid on a bike, or the neighbors dog / beamer / house. How much do you trust GPS and hobbyist open source flight control code? I trust it enough to fly around an empty park, but I'd never want it near my cat. With the prices for entry level models coming low enough to compete with an ipad or other consumer electronics, I can't help but think how scared I would be of teenagers flying these things around my neighborhood, let alone the hazards with wide scale deployment of automated drones for deliveries.

ChuckMcM 12y ago
My favorite battlebots story was from a teen who built a 'spinner' and early in their testing they lost a nut when the blade was in full spin. It left a hole in the siding of his garage as if someone had shot a bullet out of the house, 14" off the floor. Fortunately nobody was hurt. He did all future tests in a drained swimming pool.
- bsder 12y ago
  Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage had their robot Blendo removed from competition twice because it was too dangerous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blendo
  - Phlarp 12y ago
    This is just so awesome.
- sanoli 12y ago
  > early in their testing they lost a nut I'm glad I read this till the end. For a moment there I was thinking the kid had actually lost, you know, one of his nuts.

tw04 12y ago

With the number of idiots that have already almost collided with commercial aircraft, I think the drug connection is the least of our worries. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/near-collisions-between-drones-airliners-surge-new-faa-reports-show/2014/11/26/9a8c1716-758c-11e4-bd1b-03009bd3e984_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/near-c...

avinassh 12y ago

This reminds of South Park episode on the drones: http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s18e05-the-magic-bush http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s18e05-the-magic-bush