One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:05 am

What was I just saying ...

elfismiles wrote:Freakin great, I'm sure police departments will soon have there own versions of GORGON STARE coupled to this tech...

Computers That See You and Keep Watch Over You
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/science/02see.html


Drudge headline: New Miami Police peeping drone may be first in country; ACLU approves...

Image

WITH VIDEO


Drone may be coming to Miami-Dade


DORAL, Fla. (WSVN) -- A new piece of technology may soon be coming to South Florida, but is already raising concerns from residents.

The Miami-Dade Police Department recently finalized a deal to buy a drone, which is an unmanned plane that is equipped with cameras. Drones have been used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war against terror.

Many residents are concerned that the new technology will violate their privacy.

MDPD purchased a drone named T-hawk from defense firm Honeywell to assist with the department's Special Response Team's operations. The 20-pound drone can fly for 40 minutes, reach heights of 10,500 feet and cruise in the air at 46 miles an hour. "It gives us a good opportunity to have an eye up there. Not a surveilling eye, not a spying eye. Let's make the distinction. A surveilling eye to help us to do the things we need to do, honestly to keep people safe," said Miami-Dade Police Director James Loftus.

The ACLU is one of the organizations that is concerned about the drone that may soon be coming to Miami-Dade County. Howard Simon, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida approves of the drones but also advocates strict regulation of the drones. "Technology: there's no reason not to embrace technology if it makes the streets safer, if it helps the police. The concern is, though, that every new technology also has within it the capacity to threaten people's privacy," he said.

Terrorism Expert Douglas Haas, however, believes that the drones will help in many ways, including fighting crime. "This has unlimited capabilities," said Haas. "Not only is it good tactically for a SWAT callout or any tactical situation, there's numerous search and rescue applications for it after a hurricane. They could send one of these up fast and assess damage."

Residents have also questioned whether or not Miami-Dade Police can afford to purchase the drone, especially since the department has recently made a lot of budget cuts. "Nothing happens quickly in the purchasing process, and that's something that really was in place, the funds for that, a couple of years ago," Loftus said.

The purchase of drone may have been made possible through a federal grant; however, this has not been confirmed.

Honeywell has applied to the FAA for clearance to fly the drone in urban areas. This has never been allowed before, but if it does happen, the Miami-Dade Police Department will be the first police agency in the US to use the technology.

http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003198189967/


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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:31 am


Mass Protests in North Waziristan Against US Drone Strikes
Thousands of Tribesmen Protest Continued Killings

by Jason Ditz, January 21, 2011

ImageThere was a general strike in the town of Miramshah in North Waziristan Agency today, as thousands of protesting tribesmen took to the streets to protest the continued US drone strikes against the region.

Shopkeepers closed their stores, tribesmen and religious leaders rallied with students, and speakers condemned the attacks, noting that they are killing large numbers of innocent civilians.

Protesters also expressed frustration that the Pakistani government wasn’t going anything to prevent the US attacks, and urged the Supreme Court to take official action. One shopkeeper demanded the Pakistani government move against the CIA for the killings.

US officials have rarely commented on the drone strikes, except on the rare occasions when they actually successfully kill a militant. Most of the Obama Administration’s attention towards North Waziristan has been demanding the Pakistani military invade the tribal agency and threatening to take further unilateral action if they don’t.

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/21/mass ... e-strikes/

CITES:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/w ... 701881.htm

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/21/2011 ... ince-2006/

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/21/2011 ... -invasion/

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:38 am


Striking Back at the US
Relatives of Pakistani Drone Victims to Sue CIA

By Hasnain Kazim in Islamabad

Image
A Jan. 5 demonstration in Peshawar against US drone attacks: A group of victims' relatives is suing the US government and the CIA.

A Jan. 5 demonstration in Peshawar against US drone attacks: A group of victims' relatives is suing the US government and the CIA.

Almost every day, people in the Pakistani region of Waziristan are killed or seriously injured by drone attacks carried out by the CIA. Now a group of victims' relatives is standing up to Washington -- by suing the US government.

An eye and both legs: That was the price that 17-year-old Sadaullah Wazir paid for living in a part of the world that is deemed a "terrorist haven" and that has been a target for US drones over the past few years. Since Barack Obama became US president, these attacks have become increasingly frequent. The Pakistani newspapers now report daily on those killed and injured in the tribal areas in the west of the country.

"War is hell," the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman said more than a century ago. And Sadaullah Wazir certainly ended up in hell, despite never having sought out a war, nor having fought in a single battle. The war came to him on Sept. 7, 2009, as he was sitting in front of his family home in the village of Machikhel, in northern Waziristan.

On that day, a drone flew over the village. Wazir was used to the sound; he had spotted the aircraft every few days in the sky. It was an evening during the fasting month of Ramadan, and most of the members of his family had gathered inside the house for prayers. After the prayers, they were to break the fast together.

Wazir was enjoying the last rays of sunshine and stayed outside. Suddenly there was a whoosh and a drone fired a rocket that hit Wazir's house. The young man jumped up in an attempt to help his family when the building collapsed. Wazir was just at the entrance. A wall collapsed on him and severed his legs, and a splinter tore into his eye. Two uncles and a cousin died in the inferno.

War Is Always a Propaganda War

The next day the newspapers wrote that "several terrorists were killed by a drone attack." The reports only ever mention that "terrorists," "militants" and "extremists" are killed, never civilians. After all, war is always also a propaganda war.

Wazir has now come together with 12 other victims to defend himself. He has joined a lawsuit initiated by Karim Khan, a 43-year-old who lost his son and brother four months after Wazir was injured during another attack on the same village. Ten other residents of Waziristan are supporting Khan, all people who have lost relatives in the attacks. They include 14-year-old Fahim Qureshi, who on Jan. 23, 2009, lost his left eye, suffered a fractured skull and was hit by several shards in the stomach. Ilyas Kashmiri, one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, was initially reported to have been killed in the attack. That report later turned out to be false. The seven people who died were ordinary people, relatives of the young Qureshi.

Waziristan, a sparse, mountainous region on the border with Afghanistan, is regarded as a haven for extremists. The Pakistani state has no influence here. The militia, tribal leaders and extremists are the ones who maintain their own version of order. When the Western allies marched into Afghanistan after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many Taliban fighters fled across the border to this region. It was only eight years later, under pressure from Washington, that Pakistan's army started an offensive in southern Waziristan. Since then, the extremists have concentrated themselves in northern Waziristan. It remains unclear if there will ever be a military operation there.

Does that, however, make all of the people living in Waziristan enemies? Is there, in war, something like clan liability? And should rockets be fired into the homes of civilians?

'Precise, Lawful and Effective'

Experts doubt the legality of the US strategy in Pakistan. Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has asked the US to make public their rules for the drone missions, give the numbers of civilian victims and prove that there were no other viable alternatives to the deadly aerial attacks. Up to now, Washington has been cautious about making any statements regarding the drone operations. The line is simply that there is a reliance on the weapons in order to prevent militants based in the Pakistan territory from being able to exert pressure in the war in Afghanistan. A CIA spokesman declared recently that "the CIA counterterrorism operations are precise, lawful and effective." The intelligence agency maintains that many high-ranking extremists have been killed in the drone attacks, including the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud.

Pakistan's government has formally protested against the drone missions but secretly they have approved the flights, something that WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website, recently made clear when it released confidential US diplomatic cables. The authorities in Islamabad even handed over information about the possible location of terrorists, including target co-ordinates.

"They are free to shoot us, just because we live in a region that is regarded as evil?" Khan asks. He is the first person affected who has dared to stand up to the CIA, which is responsible for the drone attacks in Pakistan. It is a remarkable scenario: a dozen brave men -- simple people, some of them illiterate -- standing up to the intelligence agency of the United States of America.

The lawsuit is the first counter-strike by a few villagers against the CIA. In December, Kahn and his lawyer Shahzad Akbar also organized a protest in front of the parliament building in the capital, Islamabad. The Pakistani press took up the issue, and the people back in Waziristan got to hear about Khan and his lawyer. A group of plaintiffs formed. They are planning to demonstrate in Waziristan too.

Militants Profit from Attacks

Khan achieved something else that ensured that he caught the attention of the powerful in Washington. He found out the name of the CIA's station chief in Islamabad, Jonathan Banks, and named him in the writ. Banks was immediately withdrawn from Pakistan. The identity of the local CIA head is regarded as one of the best-kept secrets of the US Embassy in Islamabad. How was Khan able to unearth it and include it in the writ, which also names US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and CIA Director Leon Panetta? US diplomats already assume that the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI had a hand in the matter.

Khan's lawyer Akbar wants to fight the case in a civil court in Pakistan first and if it succeeds then have the sentence enforced in the US. "The demand for $500 million per fatality is certainly set very high," he admitted. "It is about ensuring that my clients in the end get appropriate compensation for the fact that they became victims of US policies simply because they live in a region where the US is fighting extremists."

If one speaks to those affected, however, they say that it is also about drawing the world's attention to their fate. In other words: to win points in the propaganda war.

A second front has unexpectedly opened up: Extremists in Waziristan are now threatening the plaintiffs. The militants have long learned to cope with the rocket attacks: Many live in caves, rarely travel by car and regularly change their location.

The militants profit in a gruesome way from the drone missions. After each attack in which innocent civilians die, they win over some of the relatives as supporters -- with a few even volunteering for suicide attacks.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 38,00.html

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:02 pm


Domestic use of aerial drones by law enforcement likely to prompt privacy debate VIDEO
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 23, 2011; 12:56 AM

AUSTIN - The suspect's house, just west of this city, sat on a hilltop at the end of a steep, exposed driveway. Agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety believed the man inside had a large stash of drugs and a cache of weapons, including high-caliber rifles.

As dawn broke, a SWAT team waiting to execute a search warrant wanted a last-minute aerial sweep of the property, in part to check for unseen dangers. But there was a problem: The department's aircraft section feared that if it put up a helicopter, the suspect might try to shoot it down.

So the Texas agents did what no state or local law enforcement agency had done before in a high-risk operation: They launched a drone. A bird-size device called a Wasp floated hundreds of feet into the sky and instantly beamed live video to agents on the ground. The SWAT team stormed the house and arrested the suspect.

"The nice thing is it's covert," said Bill C. Nabors Jr., chief pilot with the Texas DPS, who in a recent interview described the 2009 operation for the first time publicly. "You don't hear it, and unless you know what you're looking for, you can't see it."

The drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is entering the national airspace: Unmanned aircraft are patrolling the border with Mexico, searching for missing persons over difficult terrain, flying into hurricanes to collect weather data, photographing traffic accident scenes and tracking the spread of forest fires.

But the operation outside Austin presaged what could prove to be one of the most far-reaching and potentially controversial uses of drones: as a new and relatively cheap surveillance tool in domestic law enforcement.

For now, the use of drones for high-risk operations is exceedingly rare. The Federal Aviation Administration - which controls the national airspace - requires the few police departments with drones to seek emergency authorization if they want to deploy one in an actual operation. Because of concerns about safety, it only occasionally grants permission.

But by 2013, the FAA expects to have formulated new rules that would allow police across the country to routinely fly lightweight, unarmed drones up to 400 feet above the ground - high enough for them to be largely invisible eyes in the sky.

Such technology could allow police to record the activities of the public below with high-resolution, infrared and thermal-imaging cameras.

One manufacturer already advertises one of its small systems as ideal for "urban monitoring." The military, often a first user of technologies that migrate to civilian life, is about to deploy a system in Afghanistan that will be able to scan an area the size of a small town. And the most sophisticated robotics use artificial intelligence to seek out and record certain kinds of suspicious activity.

But when drones come to perch in numbers over American communities, they will drive fresh debates about the boundaries of privacy. The sheer power of some of the cameras that can be mounted on them is likely to bring fresh search-and-seizure cases before the courts, and concern about the technology's potential misuse could unsettle the public.

"Drones raise the prospect of much more pervasive surveillance," said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. "We are not against them, absolutely. They can be a valuable tool in certain kinds of operations. But what we don't want to see is their pervasive use to watch over the American people."

The police are likely to use drones in tactical operations and to view clearly public spaces. Legal experts say they will have to obtain a warrant to spy on private homes.
FAA authorization

As of Dec. 1, according to the FAA, there were more than 270 active authorizations for the use of dozens of kinds of drones. Approximately 35 percent of these permissions are held by the Defense Department, 11 percent by NASA and 5 percent by the Department of Homeland Security, including permission to fly Predators on the northern and southern borders.

Other users are law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, as well as manufacturers and academic institutions.

For now, only a handful of police departments and sheriff's offices in the United States - including in Queen Anne's County, Md., Miami-Dade County, Fla., and Mesa County, Colo. - fly drones. They so do as part of pilot programs that mostly limit the use of the drones to training exercises over unpopulated areas.

Among state and local agencies, the Texas Department of Public Safety has been the most active user of drones for high-risk operations. Since the search outside Austin, Nabors said, the agency has run six operations with drones, all near the southern border, where officers conducted surveillance of drug and human traffickers.

Some police officials, as well as the manufacturers of unmanned aerial systems, have been clamoring for the FAA to allow their rapid deployment by law enforcement. They tout the technology as a tactical game-changer in scenarios such as hostage situations and high-speed chases.

Overseas, the drones have drawn interest as well. A consortium of police departments in Britain is developing plans to use them to monitor the roads, watch public events such as protests, and conduct covert urban surveillance, according to the Guardian newspaper. Senior British police officials would like the machines to be in the air in time for the 2012 Olympics in London.

"Not since the Taser has a technology promised so much for law enforcement," said Ben Miller of the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, which has used its drone, called a Draganflyer, to search for missing persons after receiving emergency authorization from the FAA.

Cost has become a big selling point. A drone system, which includes a ground operating computer, can cost less than $50,000. A new police helicopter can cost up to $1 million. As a consequence, fewer than 300 of the approximately 19,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States have an aviation capability.

"The cost issue is significant," said Martin Jackson, president of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association. "Once they open the airspace up [to drones], I think there will be quite a bit of demand."

The FAA is reluctant to simply open up airspace, even to small drones. The agency said it is addressing two critical questions: How will unmanned aircraft "handle communication, command and control"? And how will they "sense and avoid" other aircraft, a basic safety element in manned aviation?

Military studies suggest that drones have a much higher accident rate than manned aircraft. That is, in part, because the military is using drones in a battlefield environment. But even outside war zones, drones have slipped out of their handlers' control.

In the summer, a Navy drone, experiencing what the military called a software problem, wandered into restricted Washington airspace. Last month, a small Mexican army drone crashed into a residential yard in El Paso.

There are also regulatory issues with civilian agencies using military frequencies to operate drones, a problem that surfaced in recent months and has grounded the Texas DPS drones, which have not been flown since August.

"What level of trust do we give this technology? We just don't yet have the data," said John Allen, director of Flight Standards Service in the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety. "We are moving cautiously to keep the National Airspace System safe for all civil operations. It's the FAA's responsibility to make sure no one is harmed by [an unmanned aircraft system] in the air or on the ground."

Officials in Texas said they supported the FAA's concern about safety.

"We have 23 aircraft and 50 pilots, so I'm of the opinion that FAA should proceed cautiously," Nabors said.
Legal touchstones

Much of the legal framework to fly drones has been established by cases that have examined the use of manned aircraft and various technologies to conduct surveillance of both public spaces and private homes.

In a 1986 Supreme Court case, justices were asked whether a police department violated constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure after it flew a small plane above the back yard of a man suspected of growing marijuana. The court ruled that "the Fourth Amendment simply does not require the police traveling in the public airways at this altitude to obtain a warrant in order to observe what is visible to the naked eye."

In a 2001 case, however, also involving a search for marijuana, the court was more skeptical of police tactics. It ruled that an Oregon police department conducted an illegal search when it used a thermal imaging device to detect heat coming from the home of an man suspected of growing marijuana indoors.

"The question we confront today is what limits there are upon this power of technology to shrink the realm of guaranteed privacy," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the 2001 case.

Still, Joseph J. Vacek, a professor in the Aviation Department at the University of North Dakota who has studied the potential use of drones in law enforcement, said the main objections to the use of domestic drones will probably have little to do with the Constitution.

"Where I see the challenge is the social norm," Vacek said. "Most people are not okay with constant watching. That hover-and-stare capability used to its maximum potential will probably ruffle a lot of civic feathers."

At least one community has already balked at the prospect of unmanned aircraft.

The Houston Police Department considered participating in a pilot program to study the use of drones, including for evacuations, search and rescue, and tactical operations. In the end, it withdrew.

A spokesman for Houston police said the department would not comment on why the program, to have been run in cooperation with the FAA, was aborted in 2007, but traffic tickets might have had something to do with it.

When KPRC-TV in Houston, which is owned by The Washington Post Co., discovered a secret drone air show for dozens of officers at a remote location 70 miles from Houston, police officials were forced to call a hasty news conference to explain their interest in the technology.

A senior officer in Houston then mentioned to reporters that drones might ultimately be used for recording traffic violations.

Federal officials said support for the program crashed.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04111.html

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Laodicean » Sat Mar 05, 2011 5:14 pm

I have not witnessed one...yet. On the lookout.
Drones Set to Invade National, State Parks

By Richard Wheeler
February 28, 2011

When I was a kid going to summer camp in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, I counted myself lucky if I saw a black bear once or twice in a season. But campers may soon be able to regularly see something bigger and badder when climbing the High Peaks: Reaper drones flown by the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Fighter Wing based in Syracuse, New York.

And drones aren’t just buzzing over the Adirondacks. The proposal to begin training missions there is part of a bigger push to build a drone infrastructure for flying missions throughout the United States. So new drone bases are being built. The FAA is setting aside airspace for drone flights. And you can even get an accredited college degree in roboplane repair or operations. (No word whether you can get advanced placement credit for using drones in Call of Duty, but check this space for updates.)

Today, most U.S. drones operate overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, with rumors of drone use in Yemen, Somalia, and other regions around the Horn of Africa. Most of these are flown by the military — and a few by the CIA. But because of United States law and regulation, neither of these groups can easily fly drones within the United States.

National Guard units and civilian contractors could fly these missions, if only there was enough space and adequate facilities to train the operators and technicians required to do so. But that would require shifting resources and building new facilities. In other words, an opportunity for Congresscritters to bring home the cash for their states and home districts. The race for a piece of the growing drone pie has begun.

The latest example is the amendment proposed by Senators Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) to the “FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Act” (S.223) that would increase the number of “National Airspace System” test sites from four to ten. At least one of these sites would have to include a “significant portion” of public land.

The Adirondacks, in Schumer’s home state, clearly fit this bill. And not surprisingly, there is also a proposal to use the Juniper Military Area, located in Wyden’s home state of Oregon, as another drone test area.

But Schumer and Wyden are, if anything, playing catch-up in a race that has already seen the establishment of unmanned aerial vehicle test and training sites at Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota; the National Air Intelligence Center in Springfield, Ohio; Langley AFB in Hampton, Virginia; Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, South Dakota; Mountain Home AFB in Mountain Home, Idaho; and Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster, Missouri. Thanks to President Teddy Roosevelt and the establishment of the National Parks system, we can probably expect that the other 42 states not already mentioned will be competing to serve up some of their public land as drone proving grounds.

In addition to test and training sites, Federal education and stimulus money is being used to create nonmilitary drone education programs. The Department of Aviation at the University of North Dakota, located in Grand Forks and the operator of the test and training site at Grand Forks AFB, now offers the first Bachelors of Science program in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations. The Aviation Maintenance Technology program at Northland Community and Technical College, located in Thief River Falls, Minnesota just 40 miles east of Grand Forks, will soon offer courses in the repair of UAVs. Garrison Keillor will probably announce a new drone shop class at the high school in Lake Wobegon next.

Although it is hard to predict where the drone infrastructure will grow, if other defense contracting projects are a reliable guide, the drone-ification of America will probably continue until there is a drone aerodrome in every state and a drone degree program to go with it. Drone Scout jamborees and merit badges cannot be far behind — coming soon to a summer camp near you.


http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02 ... onal-parks
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Joe Hillshoist » Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:20 pm

Anyone ever played Half-Life 2?
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby DevilYouKnow » Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:48 pm

So why are they doing this? Remote-killing these people in Pakistan, I mean? (and Yemen, and...)

Are they...

1) Fighting al-Qaeda (in a way that only serves to strengthen them, by the admission of the agency's own agents)

2) Creating the appearance of fighting al-Qaeda

3) Destabilizing the country under the guise of fighting al-Qaeda (to what end?)

4) Creating a deliberate "blowback" to perpetuate the War on Terror

5) Testing their new toys

6) Something even crazier?
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby DrVolin » Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:50 pm

Spending their budget and using up their supply so they can get more.
all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars

--Guns and Roses
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Bruce Dazzling » Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:14 pm

And drones aren’t just buzzing over the Adirondacks. The proposal to begin training missions there is part of a bigger push to build a drone infrastructure for flying missions throughout the United States. So new drone bases are being built. The FAA is setting aside airspace for drone flights. And you can even get an accredited college degree in roboplane repair or operations. (No word whether you can get advanced placement credit for using drones in Call of Duty, but check this space for updates.)


It sure is a good thing that the most recent Census didn't help to set up an infrastructure whereby the Federal government now has a record of the GPS coordinates of everyone's front door.

Oh ... wait.

Hold on though, Wired says that only "online conspiracy theorists" are worried about such things, and this IS America, so we can all rest assured that this technology will only be used against real, honest to god terrorists and whatnot.

Wait, a terrorist is anyone our President deems is a terrorist, and extrajudicial assassinations of American citizens are now legal?

:jumping:
"Arrogance is experiential and environmental in cause. Human experience can make and unmake arrogance. Ours is about to get unmade."

~ Joe Bageant R.I.P.

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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Nordic » Sun Mar 06, 2011 4:19 am

DevilYouKnow wrote:So why are they doing this? Remote-killing these people in Pakistan, I mean? (and Yemen, and...)

Are they...

1) Fighting al-Qaeda (in a way that only serves to strengthen them, by the admission of the agency's own agents)

2) Creating the appearance of fighting al-Qaeda

3) Destabilizing the country under the guise of fighting al-Qaeda (to what end?)

4) Creating a deliberate "blowback" to perpetuate the War on Terror

5) Testing their new toys

6) Something even crazier?


Well, just in case your questions aren't rhetorical, you might want to peruse this:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=31161
"He who wounds the ecosphere literally wounds God" -- Philip K. Dick
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby DevilYouKnow » Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:03 am

Nordic wrote:Well, just in case your questions aren't rhetorical, you might want to peruse this:

http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/view ... =8&t=31161


Thanks, but I've read the thread and I'm none the wiser about what's really going on in Pakistan. All I can say is, I really hope Davis will stand trial in a civilian Pakistani court. Might get interesting.
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Gnomad » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:16 pm

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... nline-news

Surveillance robots know when to hide

The creation of robots that can hide from humans while spying on them brings autonomous spy machines one step closer

THE spy approaches the target building under cover of darkness, taking a zigzag path to avoid well-lit areas and sentries. He selects a handy vantage point next to a dumpster, taking cover behind it when he hears the footsteps of an unseen guard. Once the coast is clear, he is on the move again - trundling along on four small wheels.

This is no human spy but a machine, a prototype in the emerging field of covert robotics. It was being put through its paces at a demonstration late last year by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories at Cherry Hill, New Jersey. With an aerial drone to their credit (see "Unseen watcher in the sky"), the company now wants to design autonomous robots that can operate around humans without being detected.

What makes the robot special is its ability to build a computer model of its surroundings, incorporating information on lines of sight. The robot is fitted with a laser scanner to allow it to covertly map its environment in 3D. It also has a set of acoustic sensors which it uses to distinguish nearby footsteps and their direction.

Lead engineer Brian Satterfield says the robot was designed to operate within four constraints: "Avoiding visible detection by sentries of known locations, avoiding potential detection by sentries whose positions were unknown, avoiding areas in which the robot would have no means of escape, and, as this robot was designed to run at night, avoiding areas that were well lit." To make it hard to spot in the dark, the robot was painted black.

If the robot believes it is in danger of being detected by an approaching sentry, it will try to get to a place where it can hide, Satterfield says. His comment is an example of how natural it is for us to talk about such robots as if they understand how they are perceived and have a "theory of mind".

"Lockheed Martin's approach does include a sort of basic theory of mind, in the sense that the robot makes assumptions about how to act covertly in the presence of humans," says Alan Wagner of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, who works on artificial intelligence and robot deception.

But the level at which the robot's software operates is probably limited to task-specific instructions such as, "if you hear a noise, scurry to the nearest dark corner", he says. That's not sophisticated enough to hide from humans in varied environments.

"Significant AI will be needed to develop a robot which can act covertly in a general setting," Wagner says. "The robot will need to consider its own shape and size, to have the ability to navigate potential paths, [to be aware of] each person's individual line of view, the impact that its movement will have on the environment, and so on."

Satterfield's robot was built with off-the-shelf components. Both he and Wagner say that specialised hardware which is more compact and quieter will improve future robots' mobility and their ability to stay hidden. "There are very few fundamental limits that would prevent robots from eventually conducting extended covert missions and evading detection by humans," Satterfield says.

Lockheed Martin's work looks ready to emerge, albeit quietly, into the real world. The US army recently solicited proposals for a "persistent surveillance" robot with concealment capabilities and suited for extended deployments. Later this year, the US Department of Defense is expected to back that up with cash awards for working designs.

Unseen watcher in the sky
In 2006 Lockheed Martin developed a stealthy aerial drone, known as Stalker, for US special forces in Afghanistan. Launched by hand, it weighs 6 kilograms and has a 3-metre wingspan.

The electric-powered drones it replaced are quiet, but Stalker is designed to be even quieter, with a "hush drive" combining a silenced electric motor and a special propeller. Stalker is said to be inaudible beyond 80 metres away, and can fly at night with the aid of infrared sensors and low-light cameras.

Stalker can also accurately deliver a payload weighing up to 1 kilogram, such as remotely operated cameras or microphones for eavesdropping on a target.


From Slashdot story of the same:


The "good guys" are the ones with the robots. The "bad guys" are the ones without them.

It's kind of like, the "good guys" always win the wars, because their side is writing the history books. The "bad guys" are the ones who were bombed to oblivion, either with conventional bombs or nukes.

Consider World War II. As written by the allied forces. America was not involved in the war. We were innocently sitting by, letting them fight it out. Suddenly out of nowhere, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. No one expected any such thing. We were not involved. Just ignore the fleet of about 100 ships in port, 3 aircraft carriers nearby, about 400 aircraft on the ground, and all the troops.

If it were written by the Axis forces. America was staging for a strong attack against Axis forces. A pre-emptive strike managed to substantially reduce their strength, which reduced their ability to harm Axis soldiers and civilians.

And we all know which way it went. Dropping two nukes on Japan ended it. Consider both points of view.

For the allied forces, it was a strong blow to prove our military superiority, which ended the war.

For the axis forces, the massacre of about 200,000 civilians forced our surrender, to save countless lives from further attacks.

That is not to belittle the events of the war, or the tragic loss of life on both sides. It's only to illustrate how the perception of the outcome from such events is totally tainted by those who won. Of course the "good guys" won.

How about those WMD's now.



http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/0 ... ed-To-Hide
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby elfismiles » Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:52 pm

Dade Cops Waiting To Get Crime Fighting Drone Airborne (Video)
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/03/09/da ... -airborne/

Drone may be coming to Miami-Dade (Video)
http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21003198189967/


A Peek at Secretive Firm Behind Failing “Gorgon Stare” Surveillance Technology
http://my.firedoglake.com/jimwhite/2011 ... echnology/

GORGON STARE: Computers That See You and Keep Watch Over You
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/science/02see.html


Pakistan army chief Kayani in US drone outburst
Pakistan’s army chief has condemned the latest raid by US unmanned drones as “intolerable and unjustified”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12779232

Mass Protests in North Waziristan Against US Drone Strikes
Thousands of Tribesmen Protest Continued Killings
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/21/mass ... e-strikes/

Striking Back at the US
Relatives of Pakistani Drone Victims to Sue CIA
http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 38,00.html

Report: CIA Drones Killed Over 2,000, Mostly Civilians in Pakistan Since 2006
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/01/02/repo ... ince-2006/

Top US spy in Pakistan flees after lawsuit reveals identity
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/top- ... cusations/


Domestic use of aerial drones by law enforcement likely to prompt privacy debate VIDEO
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04111.html

DPS using drones to fight crime locally (Video)
http://www.kvue.com/news/local/DPS-usin ... 18554.html



Is Lockheed Martin Shadowing You?
How a Giant Weapons Maker Became the New Big Brother
http://www.counterpunch.org/hartung01112011.html
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Bruce Dazzling » Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:15 pm



SmartBird is an ultralight but powerful flight model with excellent aerodynamic qualities and extreme agility. With SmartBird, Festo has succeeded in deciphering the flight of birds - one of the oldest dreams of humankind.

This bionic technology-bearer, which is inspired by the herring gull, can start, fly and land autonomously -- with no additional drive mechanism. Its wings not only beat up and down, but also twist at specific angles. This is made possible by an active articulated torsional drive unit, which in combination with a complex control system attains an unprecedented level of efficiency in flight operation. Festo has thus succeeded for the first time in creating an energy-efficient technical adaptation of this model from nature.
"Arrogance is experiential and environmental in cause. Human experience can make and unmake arrogance. Ours is about to get unmade."

~ Joe Bageant R.I.P.

OWS Photo Essay

OWS Photo Essay - Part 2
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Re: One Drone Thread to Rule them ALL

Postby Aldebaran » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:05 pm

TiaLinx, Inc. Announces Launch of the Phoenix40-A, a Mini-UAV with a Long Standoff Capability to Detect Motion and Breathing of a Person Inside a Compound
SOURCE TiaLinx, Inc.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TiaLinx, Inc., a developer of remotely controlled mini-unmanned aerial and ground vehicles integrated with mm-wave miniaturized radars, today announced the launch of the Phoenix40-A. The mini-UAV system is capable of performing dual functions as a motion detector as well as probing for breathing of a hiding person in a compound. The mini-UAV can be remotely controlled at long standoff distances from ground or an airborne asset.

The lightweight and agile mini-UAV with programmability to fly to or land at multiple waypoints has been integrated with TiaLinx's fine beam ultra-wideband (UWB), multi-Gigahertz radio frequency (RF) sensor array. The system provides long standoff surveillance of a premise to track movement as well as to detect motionless live objects. TiaLinx's real-time UWB RF Imaging development was sponsored by a SBIR Phase II from the Army's PEO AMMO, PM-CCS.

Through a software-controlled interface which is integrated into a laptop or joystick controller unit, Phoenix40-A can be remotely guided from long distances to perform mission critical tasks. In addition to the programmed GPS guided multi-waypoint visits, the integrated video cameras allow for day and night landing and monitoring of a premise under surveillance for enhanced situational awareness. Capability to probe a compound at standoff keeps the operator and the Phoenix40-A out of harm's way.

The RF Scanner is mounted on a lightweight mini-UAV and transmits wideband signals that are highly directional and can penetrate reinforced concrete wall at an extended range. In the receiver, a signal detector circuit is employed to capture the reflections from targets. Amplitude and delay information are then processed in an integrated signal processor.

"Phoenix40-A's introduction is intended to provide another breakthrough in miniaturization of advanced life detection sensors that provide the capability to sense-through-the-wall (STTW) remotely. Like its sister product Cougar20-H that was launched last month, Phoenix40-A can also be remotely programmed to survey a compound at multiple way points. It can scan a multi-story building and provide its layout. It is also capable of scanning in-road and off-road horizontally to detect buried unexploded ordnance (UXO)," commented Dr. Fred Mohamadi, Founder and CEO of TiaLinx. "TiaLinx is constantly miniaturizing and upscaling its UWB RF imaging core competence to enable standoff sensing of a premise for enhanced situational awareness, to assist rescue operations in hard-to-reach terrains such as collapsed buildings after an earthquake, and to eradicate land mines to save lives."

About TiaLinx, Inc.

TiaLinx, Inc. is a privately held company that develops advanced electronic modules with very small form factor, highly integrated functionality and advanced performance for wide range of military and commercial applications. Utilizing its 40 granted patents and many more pending patent applications, specifically related to the on-chip and wafer-scale beamforming and phased arrays, and high-power miniaturized V-band power amplifiers and transmitters, the Company is uniquely positioned to supply robust RF Imaging devices economically by enabling revolutionary advancements in semiconductor and sub-system designs. Since 2006, TiaLinx has received 7 Phase II and CPP awards from various government agencies.

TiaLinx was ranked as one of the top 3 companies performing advanced research projects sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) during the DARPATech 2005.

The Company was selected as recipient of U.S. Army's Commercial Pilot Program award in 2009. Twenty-five companies were selected out of the 487 recipients of the phase II awards. Within the top twenty-five companies selected, TiaLinx was the only recipient with the advanced radio frequency imaging technology for sense-through-the-wall applications.

TiaLinx was also the recipient of the 2010 Defense News Technology and Innovation Award for its Eagle5-P product selected by a panel of experts who recognized recent advances in defense technologies by U.S. companies and defense agencies. In all, the panel considered more than 80 nominations of products that came to market last year.

On December 2010, VME and Critical Systems recognized the high-power V-band transmitter and receiver of TiaLinx as Editor's Product of Choice.

Live performances of TiaLinx's products have been captured by Microwave Journal, History Channel, and Reuters.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.TiaLinx.com.

Press Release Contact: Ann Thum at pr@TiaLinx.com or (949) 748-7575

This press release was issued through eReleases(R). For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

©2011 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.
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