Mayor Bloomberg: Police Drones are Here, Get used to it!

For what it might be, there's an article in National Geographic this month yapping about drones and all the potential for good. The privacy issue doesn't get enough play, but that's sorta expected.

 

I like the PART where you shoot the Toy Drone, with a 5mw Green Laser, and burn out it's Eyes... CCD Eyes are very sensitive to Green Laser Energy... If the Driver can't see where he is Driving, then he will likely crash his Toy, very quickly, because they don't have any other way to navigate except visually... (I am talking, the Toy Drones that can't fly higher than 400 Ft AGL)

 

Blue is the wrong Color to burn out the CCD... To high in frequency, and Red gets adsorbed to quickly along he path... Green is the ticket. Most of these Toy Drones are going to be 2.4Ghz Digital Controlled, certainly not Cellular Based Control. That makes no sense at all...

 

Go back and retread Post #7 .... Duh....

 

The CCDs likely being used are not that sensitive to Blue Light... And Red loses its Power Density faster as It traverses to the Drone in Air, because of moisture, than Green. So Green is the ticket.

 

None of the drones that are in the class of less than 400'' AGL are using SAT based Control Links, they couldn't Lift the Control Systems let alone the Cameras and other Sensors... And those that the FEDs are using in the Stan's are Fly by Wire, where all they are doing is issuing instructions to the on board Computer that is flying the Drone.... This how they get around the Latency issue... Nothing is "Real Time" it is all just "Near Real Time" which is good enough for the missions they are flying, and the Harware they are Flying........

 

That unit is higher than 400' AGL... Just look at the picture...

 

Post #1 didn't differentiate between military and paramilitary drones.

Predator and Reaper (ETA: and NASA Global Hawks) drones are equipped with autonomous control systems that fly the machine in real time. Both can be "driven" by remote control, but in general do what they are programmed to do before they need to do it. Like, for example, "go to X long and Y lat and look at (Reaper) or zap (Predator) what you find there." I am not so sure that the commands in flight aren't sent by spread spectrum as well as coded, and certainly by satellite. Not an easy nut to crack. Moreover, they cannot maneuver like an F16 or anything with an on-board pilot, these are most assuredly not fighter aircraft, and they are highly vulnerable against an enemy with an airforce that is operable.
ETA: Just found out that Reapers can also be armed.

Now, we aren't really talking about the war birds, we are talking "aboot" the stuff that the DHS and it's minions (like Bloomdummy) have or will. Them is zappable easily enough, or at least blinded. 400 feet AGL is within shotgun range, just blind it first in case they are transmitting pix in real time which will have you found in short order.

ETA: zero has ordered the FAA to open airspace for drones or as they prefer, UAVs. That will take a while to get it all sorted out.