Topic: Drone - on May 15, 2012 at 11:55:00 AM CEST
Nano Drones, Ethical Algorithms: Inside Israel’s Secret Plan for Its Future Air Force
TEL AVIV, Israel — Nano drones that an infantryman can pull out of his pocket; helicopters piloted by robots who extract wounded soldiers from the battlefield; micro satellites on demand; large spy balloons in the upper reaches of the stratosphere; virtual training with a helmet from your office; algorithms that resolve pilots’ ethical dilemmas (so they won’t have to deal with those pesky war crimes tribunals); and farming out code to a network of high school kids.
Since mid-2009, some 300 Israel Air Force officers have been brainstorming about the next steps for one of the world’s most advanced air forces, and the main pillar of Israel’s strategic power. This “IAF 2030″ project has just come to an end. Besides a standard press release issued by the military, little has been disclosed about it. Exclusive details are reported here for the first time.
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Topic: Drone - on May 15, 2012 at 11:42:00 AM CEST
Drones, Remote Targeting and the Promise of Law
Drones, Remote Targeting and the Promise of Law
On Thursday, February 24, 2011, the New America Foundation, American Society of International Law, and the Arizona State University’s Center for Law, Science and Innovation hosted a conference on drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Four panels addressed a variety of topics associated with the technology, including their applications and limits as well as legal issues surrounding their use. Accounts ranged from academic to the anecdotal.
Panel I on the “The Use and Impact of Drones in South Asia,” included experiences from panelists who had seen first-hand the impact of drone technology in South Asia. Panelists Rohde and Shah offered their stories and confirmed that the drone program produced fear within Taliban ranks—the sound of drone engines hovering above was and remains haunting for civilians and insurgents. Others offered their assessment of the drone’s effectiveness in counter-insurgency and its perception within individual warzones.
Panel II, on “Drones and the Law of War,” was particularly informative, as Col. Bitzes and Charles Blanchard detailed the drone targeting and acquisition process employed by the US Air Force. Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch and William Banks rounded out the panel by emphasizing the legal framework in which violence is permissible.
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Topic: Drone - on May 14, 2012 at 2:55:00 PM CEST
Austro-Drohne tötet Ingenieur bei Test in Südkorea
Unbemannter Camcopter der österreichischen Firma stürzte auf Kontrollfahrzeug - Ursache unklar
Ein unbemannter S-100-Hubschrauber der Wr. Neustädter Firma Schiebel ist am Donnerstag während eines Testflugs in Südkorea auf das 2,5 Tonnen schwere Kontrollfahrzeug gestürzt, von dem aus der Hubschrauber gesteuert wurde. Beide Fahrzeuge gingen daraufhin in Flammen auf. Ein slowakischer Ingenieur wurde dabei getötet, bestätigte die südkoreanische Polizei gegenüber der Nachrichtenagentur AFP. Zwei Südkoreaner wurden verletzt. Die restlichen sechs Personen, die am Unglücksort waren, konnten sich in Sicherheit bringen.
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Topic: Drone - on May 14, 2012 at 2:52:00 PM CEST
Pakistanis win global award for film on drones
A short film on the US drone attacks in Pakistan, made by students of Iqra University, has won an award at an international annual film festival held in the US.
The 20-minute film “The Other Side” was awarded the Best Audience Award at the National Film Festival For Talented Youth (NFFTY), held in Seattle.
The short film was written and directed by Danish Ali along with five other team members, Online news agency reported.
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Topic: Drone - on May 7, 2012 at 3:09:00 PM CEST
Challenging the US drone programme
Pakistan has called for an end to drone attacks inside the country but says the US is not listening.
President Barack Obama maintains the programme is targeted and doesn't cause ‘a huge number of civilian casualties.’
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Topic: Drone - on May 2, 2012 at 12:31:00 PM CEST
The Empire Strikes Back: Attack of the Drones
While there are at least 63 active drone sites around the U.S., the Obama administration is calling for drone technology to be integrated into the national airspace by 2015. By 2020, just eight short years from now, it is estimated that at least 30,000 of these drones will be crisscrossing the nation’s skies, serving a wide range of functions, both public and private, governmental and corporate. The end result, however, will be the same: we will find ourselves operating under a new paradigm marked by round-the-clock surveillance and with little hope of real privacy, a paradigm foisted upon us and from which there will be no escape, short of living in a cave, far removed from the reach of modern technology. Caves, by the way, are rather scarce.
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Topic: Drone - on April 30, 2012 at 8:01:00 AM CEST
U.S. Army Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) Airspace Command and Control (A2C2) Handbook
The purpose of this handbook is to enhance understanding of Army airspace command and control (A2C2) to mitigate risks between small unit unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) and rotary wing operations below the coordinating altitude. This handbook provides leaders at the brigade and below with guidelines in the form of airspace coordination techniques and procedures regarding SUAV mission planning and airspace deconfliction.
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Topic: Drone - on April 12, 2012 at 10:17:00 AM CEST
Schweiz - Cannabis-Konsum liberalisieren
Wer in der Schweiz Cannabis konsumiert, soll künftig nur mehr eine Geldstrafe zahlen müssen und nicht mehr auotmatisch strafrechtlich verfolgt werden. Damit sollen Behörden von der Behandlung kleiner Delikte entlastet werden. Nur bei der Jugend unter 18 will man weiterhin an einer Anzeige festhalten.
Wer über 18 ist und bei einer Anhaltung durch die Polizei nicht mehr als 10 Gramm bei sich trägt, soll künftig nicht mehr angezeigt werden. Die Polizisten kassieren stattdessen eine Geldstrafe. Von 200 Schweizer Franken ist derzeit die Rede. Bei einer Anzeige würden die Folgekosten etwa gleich hoch ausfallen, sagt man hier bei der Staatsanwaltschaft von Sankt Gallen.
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Topic: Drone - on April 9, 2012 at 12:42:00 PM CEST
Look to the skies: Is it time to stop worrying and love the drone?
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere) have driven the rapid development over the past decade of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—robotic planes flown by some combination of remote “pilot” operators, software, and GPS navigation. Ranging in size from that of a flying model kit to full-sized aircraft, UAVs, also referred to as unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), have done everything from spotting roadside bombs to bombing alleged Al-Qaeda hideouts—and now they’re ready for civilian jobs. As war efforts wind down, the military is preparing to bring home the over 7,500 UAVs deployed overseas—and the companies that build them are looking to create a domestic market for the technology.
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Topic: Drone - on April 9, 2012 at 12:40:00 PM CEST
So spionieren die Amerikaner Iran aus
Dutzende Drohnenflüge über verdächtige Anlagen, eine Spezialabteilung mit Hunderten Analysten, verdeckte CIA-Operationen: So sieht laut "Washington Post" das Spionage-Programm der USA gegen Iran aus. Der Bericht offenbart vor allem neue Details über Operationen mit Tarnkappen-Drohnen.
Seit Jahren rätselt der Westen über das Atomprogramm Irans. Dabei wissen die Amerikaner offenbar bestens Bescheid über die nuklearen Pläne Teherans. Wie die "Washington Post" am Sonntag berichtet, haben die Amerikaner seit 2006 ihr Spionageprogramm gegen Iran ausgeweitet. Die Zeitung sprach mit aktuellen und früheren Sicherheitsberatern der US-Regierung. Sie kommt zu dem Schluss, dass man im Weißen Haus davon ausgehe, über eine Entscheidung Irans zum tatsächlichen Atombombenbau rechtzeitig Geheimdienstinformationen erhalten zu können.
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Topic: Drone - on April 7, 2012 at 7:37:00 PM CEST
Navy's Robot Helicopters Will Automatically Spot Pirates
Helicopter drones that have already helped catch cocaine smugglers at sea could soon get much smarter about hunting modern-day pirates. The U.S. Navy plans to upgrade its robotic Fire Scouts with electronic "brains" that are able to automatically recognize small pirate boats spotted through 3D laser imaging.
The Fire Scout drones would bounce millions of laser pulses off distant objects to create a 3D "radar" image of any boats on the high seas — a technology known as LIDAR or LADAR — so that their new software could automatically compare the 3D images to pirate boat profiles on record. A first test is scheduled to take place with seven small boats off the California coast this summer.
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Topic: Drone - on April 7, 2012 at 2:12:00 PM CEST
US draws up plans for nuclear drones
Technology is designed to increase flying time 'from days to months', along with power available for weapons systems
American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling.
The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the US government's principal nuclear research and development agency – and defence contractor Northrop Grumman, were designed to increase flying time "from days to months" while making more power available for operating equipment, according to a project summary published by Sandia.
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