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Model drone finds elderly man, missing for three days, alive

Soumis
 
It took just 20 minutes for a model drone to locate a missing elderly Wisconsin man, a feat that helicopters, search dogs, and volunteers couldn't accomplish in three days. Just don't tell that to the Federal Aviation Administration, whose regulatory wings are already flapping about model drones. (arstechnica.com) Plus d'info...

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COYOTEHUNTER
COYOTEHUNTER 8
If pleasure flying is still legal, then I would receive great pleasure in helping save this elderly mans life.
bbabis
bbabis 9
Drones, like any other object, are tools. Right or wrong use of any tool is a people issue and right or wrong is in the eye of the user. To blanket deny use because someone might do bad is the typical reaction of a kindergarten teacher to 5 year olds. When will our government get past this concept?
sparkie624
sparkie624 3
Where Drone is actually a valid term here, it is not very distinctive. RC Planes with cameras can do a lot of good things and they are fun..I agree with your statement.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 2
It's that typical knee-jerk reaction...
mariofer
mariofer 2
I agree with you 110%. It seems that we have grown to make blanket decisions for just about everything. Maybe due to the litigious environment of our current society, we tend to take the most restrictive approach just to be safe instead of studying the different factors that can influence the benefit or danger of any tool and act accordingly.
RobSJC
This story only confirms THE NEED for drones .. Found in 20 minutes .. Thats say's it all .. But of course the FAA, probably won't care someone's life was saved
irwinjim99
James Irwin 2
What can you expect from a government agency that bans commercial flights to Israel, then, allows the Secretary fo State to fly into the country on a Government aircraft?? Just more bafflegab/gobbledegook from the FAA!
NF2G
David Stark 3
What makes you think the FAA can keep a Cabinet member from doing anything?
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
"expect from a government" Simple answer and straight to the point.. "NOTHING!"
tlillis4
To be pedantic, these aren't "drones" buy R/C aircraft, correct? Strictly speaking don't "drones" require a level of autonomy?
KrauseAware2
John Krause 4
I agree.
There needs to be a legal defining line drawn.

A Drone should be an unmanned aircraft which can navigate autonomously.

Whereas a model airplane defined as an aircraft incapable of carrying a human (there are some Big model planes out there) which must be controlled by an operator.

A third definition, or sub-section would be needed to define military or law enforcement human-controlled aircraft which are armed.

But news organizations have become Drone-happy, and, and this is an important point, Drone is 5 letters, Model Airplane is 14 (with space) which takes-up too much room in a headline.

Witness the same phenomenon in the discussion over medical "pot" and "weed" dispensaries. Shorter headline than Cannabis or Marijuana.

No matter what the editorial slant is at the reporting agency, the shorter headline makes them all seem biased against either one.
They should take that into account.
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Not by the strictest of definition, however the QUAD-COPTERS do and most will even return home (to starting point of departure) by command or on their own when battery gets low.
NF2G
David Stark 2
When did radio-controlled airplanes become "drones" anyway? More buzzword fever, like "terrorist" and various other examples over the past few decades.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
From the Dictionary...

an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight:
the GPS of a U.S. spy drone.

(loosely) any unmanned aircraft or ship that is guided remotely:

Make note, most Quadcopters can return home without control from the ground station, so that is autonomous controls.
spdmrcht
Ron Lorenz 2
If the Feds. can't make Money at it then it will be Illegal
that's how they work! No Money no Oks.
fredericklee
Fred Lee 2
The USA needs to develop a search and rescues using all available technology. Use of drones or R/C aircraft launched from helicopters or fixed wing and could be remotely controlled with up-link from the launch vehicle to satellite for remote control.

We should not be narrow minded that one size fits all. With search and rescue all modes should be as robust as possible.
theclapp
Larry Clapp 2
I'll bite. What's the difference between a remote controlled helicopter or airplane, a "model drone", and a "drone"?

Is it that a "drone" (be it a "model drone" or otherwise) has a camera on it?
sparkie624
sparkie624 3
What an article.. Title should be "RC PLane with Camera finds elderly man, missing for three days, alive"... Why do they have to keep throwing the DRONE part into it. Bad title... Glad the old fellow is ok. People who do not know what RC is are the ones complaining.. That just shows ignorance and stupidity and the fact that our liberal governments trying to take over our lives.
mrvair
mrvair 2
Amen Sparkie !!
nasdisco
Chris B 1
Lets see the video this thing took.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
The fur will fly for a long time on the subject. Commercial aspect aside, drones and models intending to fly lower than 500' agl over private or public property should have permission from the owner or controlling agency of the property. IMHO.
sgbelverta
sharon bias 1
It will be 25+ years before this issue gets sorted out. While I think finding a lost person is a great result of the technology, I don't want my 12 year old neighbor watching me sunbathe in the buff in my yard that is surrounded by a six foot brick fence. In California, with homes packed in at 8 houses per acre, how do you define permission of the property owner for airspace? I hate it when the lawyers have to get involved.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 2
How about me? I'm 12 times 3.5...
BaronG58
BaronG58 4
Sharon...Latitude..Longitude...Please.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 2
Hold on to your pantalones, I made the first proposition...
awhull
Alistair Hull 2
Ever since the railroads lost the battle to "own" the airspace above railway lines, (an attempt to kill off the fledgeling air mail) you do not "own" the airapace above your property. What's next? sending a bill out for airliners flying over your house....
sgbelverta
sharon bias 1
Haven't bailed. Comcast up and died. No phone, no TV, no Internet. It's been so quiet I'd go sunbathe if it wasn't 104 outside. I'm very close to the final approach to McClellan AFB. No AF, but I still have to watch out for those Coasties. I like to tell people I could see the tire tread on the C5's when they used to come in here for touch and go's.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
Cool! Pun? Maybe.
seagemlisa
seagemlisa 1
There is no way to prevent a 12 year old of any age(wink)from watching you sunbathe. As long as they don't try to arrest us for public indecency, I'm not worried about it. If you want true privacy in 'tanning with no lines,'go to a tanning booth.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
The kid could use a go pro on a stick and make you a movie star!
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 1
Wonder if she lives on Valjean in Van Nuys...
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 -1
Somehow I knew you would show up on this part of the thread. So what do you think? A milf ??
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 1
Oh man, I'll wait for u to get yelled at
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
She bailed. Guess she's heard about you.
crk112
crk112 1
It was probably an R/C airplane with a gopro strapped to the top. :-D
crk112
crk112 1
lol yes I realize it was an R/C airplane.. I meant a toy r/c airplane
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Actually it was an RC QuadCopter/ Very similiar, but yet different in many ways.
connomar
Martin Connor 1
The knock on effect of getting excited about "drones" is that Remote Control Aircraft enthusiasts will start being targeted, since these are a platform on which a camera could be mounted.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 4
Most RC people fly at a designated area often approved by the FAA. The one by me has airspace and altitude restrictions. What most people don't realize is that these models can be dangerous and plenty of injuries (sometimes death) occur. Many RCers belong to a club and carry insurance. Most are very responsible. That said, they are not exempt from the morons that give any activity a bad name.
tufiremn
It seems like the FAA needs to first define what a drone is before grounding them. The "drones" that EquuSearch use are radio controlled planes with cameras. The idea for them was started by a few friends of mine out of their garage around 15 years ago. The sole intent was to create a low cost aerial video platform for law enforcement, first responders, and search and rescue teams. They have been used for at least the last 10 years to locate missing persons, survey wild land fires, etc. without charging a dime for their service.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
Does it matter if it's a drone or an RC? The effects on other aircraft and people's property/privacy are the same.
joelwiley
joel wiley 1
Link to the March 2014 ruling mentioned in the aricle.


http://flightaware.com/squawks/link/1/unset/user/40603/NTSB_judge_dismisses_fine_against_small_drone_user
gunfitr
Kurt Anderson 0
The Drone just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Any of the searchers may have the same luck.
It's just a media thing because Drone's are the big thing in the News lately.
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Very True... But then the news would not have been nearly as good.. However, everyone knows you have a better view from the air, and the "drone" as everyone likes to call it is a lot cheaper than a Helicopter, and can do the same thing in this situation.
pthomas745
Pa Thomas 0
Its all fun and games until one gets sucked into an intake.......
seagemlisa
seagemlisa 0
That's nice to hear it being used for something other than blowing up people. Someone asked what the difference was between drones and radio controlled model airplanes. I suspect it has more to do with the weight it can carry and distance it can fly. Camera is lighter than bombs?
sparkie624
sparkie624 3
It was not a military drone that found them... It was an amateur flying a quadcopter with a camera attached searching from the air with a live camera... No Bombs or Guns on this one.

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