Pages

Showing posts with label Swarms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swarms. Show all posts

December 2, 2016

Pocket Sized Surveillance Drone Company Acquired

An article from Recode:
The leading maker of thermal imaging sensors, Flir, bought a Norwegian drone maker for $134 million, the company announced Wednesday.

Flir acquired Prox Dynamics, which makes the Black Hornet, a tiny nano-drone used by the military and law enforcement for surveillance and reconnaissance. The drone is deployed by throwing it in the air and is small enough to fit in a soldier’s pocket. Despite its compact frame, the Black Hornet carries three cameras.

 
The palm-sized aircraft is used by the U.S. Marines, the British Army, the Australian Army and Norway’s Armed Forces.
These drones can easily fit in the palm of your hand.
President-elect Donald Trump wants to resume law enforcement access to military equipment, so Flir acquired Black Hornet at an opportune time, when its client base in the U.S. may soon swell.
They're not cheap. I can see a new law enforcement grant initiative whereby federal tax dollars will be used to purchase these devices. The Black Hornet drone and all the equipment necessary to operate it costs $1950,000. Few small or even medium sized police agencies can afford that price tag.

If these drones become common place there might be an ancillary business boom for residential swimming pool domes . Swarms of miniature drones, cheap civilian models and otherwise, could infest skinny dipping sites. It could resemble a bee migration.

And what would you call a swarm of surveillance drones?

There's a bevy of quail, a dole of doves, a siege of herons, a gaggle of geese and a raft of ducks.

A dollop of drones?