Disputed drones: How new technologies and public security balance

Amateur photographers and Hollywood filmmakers use drones for aerial filming, as well as geological home drones looking for oil shale, and Amazon's top brass are trying to use drones to deliver deliveries to households, November 27 news.

But now, drones--such as the size of a pizza box--are being viewed as a handy tool by someone who likes to play pranks and make trouble.

With the price of drones falling and sales rising, the problem is that the machine is becoming an important tool for mischief and crime. In recent months, attempts have been made to use drones to put contraband in prisons and to disrupt events in stadiums. While poachers are tracking their prey, members of the animal protection group are also using drones to track poachers. In France, dozens of of illegal flights over nuclear power plants have also been a headache for the authorities.

These events have forced public safety officials to take a closer look at drones, primarily from a security standpoint, to prevent possible problems. For groups dedicated to promoting drone business, the misuse of such drones is also a headache for them, fearing that regulators will tighten access to drones.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it is concerned about the safety of drones, such as crashing into crowds and airplanes. In Wednesday, the agency said it had received 25 reports of unmanned aircraft approaching manned spacecraft within one months. The FAA is expected to draft a new rule on commercial drones as soon as next month.

"Now, anyone can touch drones-good guys, bad guys, mischievous people, kids," said Patrick Egan, sUAS news editor and commercial drone Project advisor. "Anything can happen if you don't limit it." ”

In general, it is only for the purpose of personal recreation that drone flight is legal, as long as the operator follows a number of rules, such as the drone's flight altitude of not more than 400 feet. And the price of falling--some of the four-rotor models fitted with cameras, priced at just 500 dollars-also attracts more and more consumers. Aviation research company Teal Group predicts that the global civilian drone market is 450 million U.S. dollars this year, up 45% from last year.

Drones are now often used in celebrations and weddings to shoot from the air. With the number of drones growing, more of these materials will appear on online video and social media sites, prompting some users to shoot more dazzling videos.

Just a year ago, Tom Mabe, a comedian in Louisville, Kentucky, Tom Mebou a mannequin on a Halloween parade, using the fishing line to pull up a human model, pretending to be a grim reaper with a sickle in his hand. A video of people who had been spooked on the occasion was on YouTube, with more than 7 million clicks to watch the video.

"I want to be a comedian who uses drones as props," says Mr Mabel. He planned another drone-assisted performance this Halloween.

Outdoor sporting events, usually in an open environment and with a large audience, have become a hot target for some people manipulating drones to implement certain behaviors. A football match was held in Belgrade in October, with both Serbia and Albania's national teams, the competition disturbed, someone manipulating a drone hovering over the field, and a large Albanian flag hanging from the fuselage, which is politically sensitive to many people in the stadium.

A Serbian player pulls up the banner, which leads to clashes between the players and outside spectators.

Drones have also appeared in British professional football matches and in American college football. At the University of Texas in Austin in August, a student was arrested for manipulating a drone hovering over a school stadium that was filled with 93,000 spectators. According to the school police, the student may face charges.

Stadiums are deeply concerned about the potential security implications, and the FAA has recently updated its policies, which were originally formulated after the 911 terrorist attacks. The updated policy explicitly prohibits drones from reaching the venues where major sporting events are held.

In the United States, drone commerce is largely banned, and authorities worry that without restrictions there will be large numbers of drones in the air, with only a handful of Hollywood studios being the exception. The FAA is in the process of drafting rules requiring drones to remain in the line of sight of the operator during the commercial flight of the drone, while requiring the operator to undergo a certain level of training.

The FAA frequently receives reports of drone approximation of sensitive areas, particularly in the airport area. According to its Wednesday record, the agency has received 6 reports from February this year about drones approaching or flying over stadiums in Arizona, Pennsylvania and other states. October 14, a low-altitude crossing of Florida's Daytona City Stadium, the drone crashed into a man, causing the injured "consciousness blurred," the agency reported.

Brendan Schulmann, a New York lawyer who is currently employed by commercial clients interested in using drones, says the use of drones for improper use is, after all, a minority that should not affect the normal operation of drones.

"The important thing is that we need to strike a balance between the two," he said. "It should not be banned because a few people have done something disgusting." ”

Hunting has been one of the most contentious issues of all time, and last year, drones offered new possibilities for solving the problem. PETA (arranges for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,peta) began providing 325 of millions of US dollars in an animal-friendly drone, in the hope that people could use it to record illegal hunting activities. James Rodgers, director of innovation at the James Rogers, said they had sold "a dozen" of the drones, stressing that people should not use them to disrupt legal hunting.

But some people say the drone's roar itself can cause interference. Nick Pirizzotto Nick Pinizzotto, chief executive of the American Athlete's Union (U.S Sportsmen's Alliance), said. The alliance is a group of hunting enthusiasts. He said he had learned something from the hunters in New York: The roar of drones would scare off wild ducks.

"They always say, ' We're not trying to disrupt the hunt, we're just trying to find the bad guy, '" Pirizzo said. "For PETA, everyone who hunts is a bad guy. ”

A nationwide law enforcement agency is equipping drones to monitor suspicious packages and behaviour, raising concerns about privacy concerns. But recently, authorities have found that drones can also be used against themselves.

An unmanned drone crashed on a wall of a high-security federal prison in April as it tried to carry a cell phone, marijuana and cigarettes. One was arrested and the authorities were searching for another accomplice. The authorities were also not sure whether they had successfully carried out the goods before.

Calo Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who engages in drone research, said: "The technology should not be scaled up and should not be misused." ”

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)