The Argument Against Banning Chinese Drones (Part 7) By Dr. Will Austin, President, Warren County Community College.

[The Droning Company]

Opinion: The Spying Problem

 

[Felix le Chat]

I did read the header correctly, didn't I? "...The Argument AGAINST Banning Chinese Drones (Part 7)..."

Let's look at the "evidence of spying and data harvesting" shall we? Unless my memory is shot to hell, this pony ran the circuit... what... four years ago? with the best brains put to the task... American Brains, no less... who decided that there was absolutely NO evidence of any Fu-Manchu Machiavellianism whatsoever - in fact (again if memory serves right) the recommendation AFTER the top-level Government deep-dive investigation was that, regardless of there being NO EVIDENCE of spying or data harvesting by DJI products or software, protocols should be put in place IN CASE OF any future proclivity for the heinous and wily Chinese communist to turn uncle Bob's Air 2S into a devastating 5th column weapon of war. Or perhaps you were being ironic.

But perhaps I'm just badly informed and that professional investigation was wrong? if so: how many millions of multi-agency Federal tax-payer dollars got spent to pay for reports that stated what was fact, instead of what certain bodies WANTED to hear? and more to the point... if botch up it be: who is accountable for this monumental faux-pas? I haven't read anything in the news... have you?

I'm beginning to wonder if the Spark of Inspire-ation for this attitude was grabbed out of thin Air, or is a revenant, a Phantom bogeyman from the past brought out of the closet to frighten the public. I suppose time will Tell-o.

Now for the economics. Why is it that American manufacturers (well, manufacturer, singular) chose to ditch the consumer market - after all the Skydio 2 was a surprisingly capable drone. The unpalatable answer is very straightforward. Skydio stand to make FAR more money cornering the market and flogging the likes of the X2E, the X2D and the X10 to the American military, Government departments and domestic security forces for the "official surveillance" of... you guessed it... the American people. Sounds like Skydio, BIG stakeholder and lobbyist for Star Spangled Banner drones really had their heads screwed on, but purely from a self-centred point of view.

The push towards domestic drone manufacture isn't something unusual, as pointed out in my response to the first in this series of posts, I have experience of a similar initiative currently under development in at least one city in the UK and, surprise surprise, these won't be drones that uncle Bob is going to be able to buy and fly, oh no, these, like Skydio's stable, will be for commercial and "official use" only.

There is no current viable alternative to DJI drone technology mainly because while Governments on both sides of the pond were pissing and moaning and initiating bureaucratic investigations at the public expense, genuinely rival companies decided to cut the base-level consumer out of the equation because selling to the public wasn't lucrative enough - in the meantime, DJI rolled up its sleeves, invested and (like all clever and successful companies) made their product line more sophisticated, more variable and better - and kept selling their products to the customer base that raised them up from obscurity - the European and American Public.

But, I suppose you may be right and the only good DJI drone in the hands of Joe Public needs to become a brick until domestic innovators finally catch up to the standard set by DJI. Then we can live in hope that your Government and mine agree that us Hicks from the Sticks are responsible and trustworthy enough to actually own one. Or perhaps... even FLY one. Or maybe.... maybe... take a landscape photograph with one!

We'll be waiting a long time then.

If the British, American, or any of the EU Gau-states had actually decided to cut DJI and communist China out of the drone game even four years ago - the investment in this technology would have been made fully available to geeky whizz-kids with a mindset similar to Frank Wang and because Machiavellian panic-mongers persist in insisting on turning everything with a DJI or Autel tag into a paperweight, perhaps we'd be buying THEIR products instead.

 

[Dangerly]

Investing in marketplace research and innovation is a better solution to propel the development of secure and resilient drone technologies in the United States. Rather than just overregulating the industry, Congress should allocate resources towards advancing drone related industries of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and cryptographic solutions to help strengthen UAS systems against emerging threats and vulnerabilities. Encouraging collaboration between academia, industry, and government agencies can generate breakthroughs in drone technology while building a renewed system of innovation and entrepreneurship. Far too much of the funding is directed to too few companies and universities that have long ago left the realm of revolutionary innovation.

I agree. We have plenty of examples of technology initially funded by Congress for our military, which eventually had civilian and consumer applications. Gemini summarizes these uses:

• GPS (Global Positioning System): Originally created for precision targeting and navigation by the U.S military, GPS is now integral to countless civilian technologies like smartphones, navigation apps, and even precision agriculture.
• Miniaturized components: Drone development pushed the boundaries of lightweight cameras, sensors, and batteries. Now, these components find application in everything from smartphones to action cameras.
• Stabilization systems: The need for steady flight in drones led to the development of advanced inertial measurement units (IMUs) and gyroscopes. Today, you'll find similar tech stabilizing smartphone cameras and handheld video equipment.
• Autonomous flight capabilities: Research into automated drones for battlefield operations is contributing to the development of self-flying (or partially self-flying) drones for commercial delivery and photography.
• Night vision and thermal imaging: Technology first used in military drones is now found in consumer and prosumer versions for hunting, security, and even home inspections.
• 3D Mapping & LiDAR: Military-grade terrain mapping tech is now adapted for civilian surveying, construction, and self-driving cars.
• Image recognition & object tracking: Features developed for military drones are filtering into commercial drone software for photography, inspections, and even search and rescue.

The biggest challenge in using tax dollars to fund this development will be doing this in a way that allows industry to utilize the innovations while also giving the US military an "unfair" advantage in drone technology. Otherwise it would be much harder, I would think, for Congress to authorize these funds.