It’s no longer pie in the sky – drones have entered the mainstream. Recreationally and commercially, the uses of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) have rapidly expanded. But while there have been welcome advances in agriculture, aerial photography, product deliveries, even racing, it’s hard to ignore the less glamorous applications.

Invasive applications of drone technology, particularly in policing and surveillance, are creeping into daily life in unassuming ways, according to Senior Research Fellow in the School of the Arts and Media, Dr Michael Richardson...

The ugly

Perhaps the most problematic use of a drone is as a tool for suppression, Dr Richardson says. Just the fear of being watched can be enough to deter people from public participation, he says.

“If you think or feel worried that drones are going to be monitoring or recording a crowd, it might deter you from being involved in public protest, for example,” he says.

“We’ve also seen in the US, airspace regulation as a means of controlling who can fly drones, where and when, for instance, allowing private security to use drones but not allowing activists to use drones, so there is a potential disparity in power.”

Reported 29 September 2020 on Newsroom.unsw.edu.au: Read the entire article here.

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