FAA under pressure to open US skies to drones

FAA under pressure to open US skies to drones

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/00a6719713bc.jpg[/atsimg]
US Predator Drone

WASHINGTON
Unmanned aircraft have proved their usefulness and reliability in the war
zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now the pressure's on to allow them in
the skies over the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights
for a range of pilotless planes to carry out civilian and law-enforcement
functions but has been hesitant to act. Officials are worried that they
might plow into airliners, cargo planes and corporate jets that zoom
around at high altitudes, or helicopters and hot air balloons that fly as
low as a few hundred feet off the ground.

On top of that, these pilotless aircraft come in a variety of sizes. Some
are as big as a small airliner, others the size of a backpack. The tiniest
are small enough to fly through a house window.

news.yahoo.com...

I find this most disturbing
as it reminds me of the Terminator movie
where the machines are exterminating
people from the air without regard.

Does anybody else besides me
find this disturbing????

Skynet is only a heart beat away what happens when computers become aware and don't want to be unplugged? How far away are we from that?

as it could mean that potential
militia members can be hunted
from the air in case of a new
revolution.

I guess Americans will find out what it's
like living like an Afghani or Iraqi
very soon.

Originally posted by Subjective Truth
Skynet is only a heart beat away what happens when computers become aware and don't want to be unplugged? How far away are we from that?

Stop fantasizing.

Humans use drones to kill humans. Drones will soon be used against Americans.

Skynet? What are you on about...

reply to post by Exuberant1


Let,s see when does a computer think for itself 10 years away? I don't know do you. And when they do think for themselves do we grant them rights? I bet we do and then what?



In reality it is not that far fetched. What we see is I believe 30 year old tech who knows what lurks in those secret bases around the world?

[edit on 14-6-2010 by Subjective Truth]

Amazing isn't it, at the very same time that you have the Deepwell Horizon/Gulf Oil/Gas tragedy unfolding, due largely to the administration and BP ignoring warnings that they were moving too quickly and beyond science and technology's ability to pull off the task safely, you have this other similarly flawed (with current technology/methods - not that this may change within a few years) idea being circulated again?

Learn from the Gulf, wait a little until the technology is perfected and bullet-proof, so all air vehicles to be sure they'll avoid each other - and buildings - (what's that computing standard - 99.999999999% fail proof?) before engaging it, otherwise you'll likely end up with other nasty human tragedies.

e.g. Drone hits airliner, wipes out [tail/control surface/engine] hits [enter destination here, e.g. nuclear power station/hospital...]

Do we need any more examples of decisions made of desperation rather than prudence?

Originally posted by Exuberant1
Skynet? What are you on about...

Skynet was the computer AI
from the Terminator movies.

It was also used as the villian in
the puter video game called
"Deus Ex"

Bad stuff this is.
I cannot see a valid reason for these to fly the skies in the USA.
It seems they would only be a spy tool for the US.
I do nothing illegal but I sure still don’t want some drone over my kids play field.
That is a disaster waiting to happen.
I have no problems with the Law Enforcement helicopters, in fact we had a helicopters engine blow locally and 2 of the 3 crew died while avoiding kids at play in the local lake.
They could have splashed down but too many civilians were around, so they took the hill taking the lesser of two evils.
I’m sure a drone pilot would not have the same worries as he would be miles away and totally anonymous.
Good find OP

Wow, this is very scary. What happens id they falsely suspect you of committing a crime? A hell-fire missile through your car window? What about privacy? For anyone who ever doubted that we are turning into a police-state, just read that article.

--airspoon

In about 15-20 years, we will most likely witness the end of the age of 'silicone computing'

'Quantum computing' will then take over.

If we were to look at the hypothetical scenario that silicone based processors still existed in 50 years, then they would have actually caught up with the speed of 'human thought', anything beyond that could be considered as the 'age of AI'.

However with the dawn of quantum computing, this timeframe could be shortened significantly.

Sorry to follow off-topic, but wanted to respond to the mention of 'Skynet'.


Kind regards,

Skellon.

[edit on 14-6-2010 by Skellon]

Any word on them being used on 91101.
Sometimes these conspiracies run into one another.
One hand helps the other type of deal.
From no planes to real planes to DEW there will be some new arrival.
This might be a breakthrough one of those theories needs.
Take it from experience, if its been developed it will fly.
Drones now and Foos years ago from 1945 and they still fly around
the world without a problem.

No, I do not agree with allowing military spyware to traverse our airspace. It looks like V for vendetta, dudes in vans listening to private conversations in your house and when you have a argument against the administration, the black baggers come to visit you at 3 in the morning and make you disappear... HELL NO! Posse comitatus.

Yeah those things carry hellfire's too. They aren't completely invincible though, an urban warfare setting could easily nullify their use. Humans are on the other side and are subject to sleep deprivation, abnormalities in cameras etc.

Moderators, can we merge this with today's earlier post on this topic: www.abovetopsecret.com...

As I said on the other thread, any purported benefit of filling the skies with private/commercial/law enforcement drones is not worth the risk and simply isn't practical. Civil Aviation, which includes commercial services, would be endangered by remote controlled drones with a limited field of view.

If one drone flew into a passenger aircraft it would be too many as it is fundamentally avoidable by not allowing drones.

Originally posted by boondock-saint
as it could mean that potential
militia members can be hunted
from the air in case of a new
revolution.

...which is exactly why they want them here.