Issue 405 Drones becoming more invasive. August 27, 2014

Well, I am back on the topic of drones.  You know those robots that reporters want to own, Amazon uses to deliver packages, and hobbyists use to have a little fun.  They are evolving and becoming cheaper, so let’s discuss the developments.

Price:  Drones as an item have gone down significantly in cost.  At the present time you can buy a drone for as cheap as $50 dollars.  If you equip it with a camera, you just spent another $70.  So for under $200 you can get a drone to spy on your neighbors by the pool.  Of course you can use it for other legal things but the price has become much cheaper allowing almost anyone to afford it.

Equipment:  As drones get cheaper, so does the equipment they can carry.  They do not need to just carry a video camera.  There are cheap listening devices that can be equipped to drones to eavesdrop on conversations.  Think your private conversation indoors is safe?  Think again as they have laser microphones that can not only listen to your conversation in a room, but isolate your particular conversation from all other noise.  This works of course if your room has windows as the laser measures the oscillations (vibrations) the window experiences caused by your conversation.  Sonic sensors can be used to map out an area.  Ground penetrating radar can be equipped to get a detailed map of one’s home.  Even thermal devices can be equipped to see through walls.  While all these have practical uses outside of the perverse, it brings up some very important privacy concerns.  There are even components that allow for these devices to remote monitor people for up to two miles with range increasing as the technology grows.  If the drone goes out of range an auto call back system returns it to its master at a preset location.  Not only this, the drones need not be in visual range of their intended target.  They can be off at a distance where unbeknownst to their target, they are watching and listening.

Conclusion:  As technology increases, privacy decreases.  We have created our own panopticon, but instead of prison wardens we have each other.  How this affects us and what legal or social actions will take place will remain to be seen.  But in this day and age, we can all be spies.