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posted by martyb on Thursday May 05 2016, @04:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the roomba-of-the-skies dept.

Delft Aerial Robotics (DAR) announced their plans to create an autonomous drone network in the Netherlands within the next year.

They will begin by deploying deploy drone docking stations throughout the Delft region that will support a network of autonomous drones. The docking stations will contain sensors that monitor the weather and flying conditions for drones before they begin flights, as well as drones' diagnostics once they are in the air. They will be connected to the cloud through LTE, LORA, Satellite, or their own networks, and will be available for use by multiple users.

What these drones wil actually be doing seems a bit vague so far. Apparently, DAR expects that its projects will benefit end-users across industries, providing real-time insights on crop health, construction planning, water management, nature conservation, infrastructure management, and more., and they intend to offer drones as a service.

Apart from worrying about the network becoming self aware and exterminating all humans, I wonder how they intend to make sure that people hiring a drone have obtained permission to fly it.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:12AM (#341923)

    Fly my pretties! Gonna make me some crop circles. That's what you get for offering drones as-a-service, suckers.

  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:18AM

    by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:18AM (#341924) Journal

    if the drones are fully autonomous, or in some form under control of the company that runs them, then the person or company hiring the drone(s) would surely not be the "operator", and not be liable.
    IANAL, and laws vary between countries (yay for SOBO)

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 2) by Gravis on Thursday May 05 2016, @10:15AM

      by Gravis (4596) on Thursday May 05 2016, @10:15AM (#341983)

      what the fuck does "SOBO" mean?

      is it one of these?:

      SOBO South Bombay (India)
      SOBO Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation
      Sobo South Bounder (a person hiking the Appalachian Trail from North to South)
      SOBO Small Office/Branch Office
      SOBO Southbound Train Blues Band (Israeli delta blues band)
      SOBO South of Broadway Oakland Merchants Association (California)
      SOBO Socialbodega (social marketplace)
      SOBO Sun's Out Buns Out

      • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday May 05 2016, @10:31AM

        by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday May 05 2016, @10:31AM (#341988) Journal

        Statement Of the Bleeding Obvious.

        Which my acronym was apparently.. not.

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:32AM (#341927)

    I've been having this idea for a year or so now that is super similar. Basically the same setup with base stations interspersed throughout dense forested areas (using solar power and batteries to generate power for drone recharging). The drones would wander autonomously through the wilderness looking for lost hikers or anything out of the ordinary. Its a very specific idea, yes, but automated search and rescue seems like an idealistic role for drones, right? Anyway here's hoping this is a start in that direction.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @09:30AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @09:30AM (#341972)

      automated search and rescue seems like an idealistic role for drones, right?

      Depends, are we talking about the Whirling Blades of Indiscriminate Cutting on a free flight through a densely forested area? There might be a few snags like that in some situations, but mostly it does seem like a nice idea.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @10:07PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @10:07PM (#342264)

        Long ago, somebody figured out how to protect against the tips of the blades by surrounding a prop with a shroud.
        It even improved the efficiency of the gizmo.
        Ducted fan[1] [google.com]

        Decades ago, this guy was standing right on top of the whirling blades without consequence.
        Hiller Flying Platform[1] [google.com]

        What's with youngsters who think that no one has ever solved these fundamental issues?

        [1] The comment engine is still stripping quote marks out of URLs.

        -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:55AM (#341929)

    I founded a startup to deport niggers back to Africa. Could drones be used to locate and tag niggers for deportation?

    Give me money, investors.

    • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 05 2016, @06:55AM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 05 2016, @06:55AM (#341944) Journal

      And next, the white "Americans" are deported back to Europe?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
      • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @07:32AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @07:32AM (#341949)

        Why would you do such a horrible thing to Europe?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @08:03AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @08:03AM (#341953)
      Illegal immigration has always been a problem in America. Ask any Indian.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @08:47AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @08:47AM (#341962)

        Hell with the Indians. Ask the buffalo.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:22PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 05 2016, @05:22PM (#342122)

    From the beginning of the company's mission statement:

    Delft Aerial Robotics (DAR)’s mission is to fully automate the drone workflow. It understands that for the drone business model to be scalable, humans must be taken completely out of the loop.

    If there's at least one thing where the EU is slightly ahead of the US, then it is in drone regulation [rpas-regulations.com]. Funny enough for a company willing to develop a business in drones, they clearly haven't checked these, as a human in the loop is a clear requirement for any commercial drone flights, up to and including fully autonomous flight (originally scheduled for 2018, but add 2-4 years more).