btiede

This is an interesting idea. Concept seems similar in some ways to Reddit/Hacker News. Would Vectr have a way to leverage existing communities of experts (to answer user questions) or would it aim to create new ones?

Or the identical cartoon police men and women!

Thanks for sharing Bigiain. Interesting discussion. Have wanted to get into drone photography. Am a painter, so think this would be an interesting new domain for me (provided that I can find a canvas large enough!)

Thanks for your perspective on this.

|"Why would people wanting that bother learning how to use a drone?"

Good point. I suppose they might still gain some value from having the aerial view as opposed to setting up multiple shots from cameras/phones on the ground? Then again if, as you say, the shots from a small commercial aerial drone are not clear because of stability issues etc., then it is pointless to use one. Is drone camera stabilization getting better though, to the point where it would be very easy to capture a good, high quality image from a higher altitude even with a small drone in the near future and is that something regulators should take into consideration now? How do you think the drone industry should be regulated and what weight class(es) do you think it these regulations should cover?

I'd agree that drones, like the traditional toys you mention tend not to pose a safety risk unless they bump into you. Kites/frisbees/skateboards etc. typically don't carry cameras, however, whereas it's quite easy to equip a small drone with one. Isn't it conceivable that a small drone equipped with a camera could monitor a facility (prison/bank etc.) from above and uncover and exploit security flaws that exist in that facility? I'm interested in hearing your take on the issue of drone regulation though as I see from your profile you are far more qualified to discuss it than I am. Edited the 'many' to 'some' in my earlier post. Source is the NYT article I posted.

It does seem like they started with a very low weight. Looks like I'll have to figure out how to make my hoverboard a lot lighter...

Good analogy with the auto industry. I don't think it will lead to the death of the drone. In fact I don't think it really goes far enough. Registration into such a database falls short of what some security experts agree is appropriate, especially when you consider that people with malicious intent are not going to register anyway. However, it is a necessary first step.

EDIT: 'many' changed to '_some_ security experts': Source is the NYT article in the OP

Extremely well-put

I'm sure this is a welcome distraction from work!

Yes, I would be a HUGE advocate of them sharing this data. Autonomous cars can share their data with human drivers in the vicinity to alert them to situations on the road. Perhaps each vehicle (autonomous and human-driven) could contribute to an open network of data that any vehicle in the vicinity can access and process to alert their drivers or take necessary actions to protect the safety of all passengers.

Would be interested in hearing legal opinions about whether this data would only be shared if the individual car owners 'opt in' or if the operator - Google - could mandate the sharing of this data while the cars are on the road.

Trying to think of downsides to an open shared platform of such data.

Agreed that enough of these self-driving cars on the road would put human drivers at a relative disadvantage if the self-driving cars are able to transmit and share data among themselves regarding dangerous road conditions that require extra precautions (e.g., icy, slick surfaces), accidents, traffic conditions or dangerous human drivers that are putting others at risk.

Yes, agreed. I found more images that capture the changing climate in action: http://climate.nasa.gov/state_of_flux#Qori-Kalis-930px-80-v2...

Stunning photos! Number 11 is particularly striking because it captures global warming in action!