http://wap.engadge...-chases-intruders/






After a long wait, Secom's security drone is ready for service... and it has a clever trick up its sleeve. The robot will not only capture photos of cars and people that wander on to forbidden grounds, but automatically chase them to get their faces and license plates on camera. While it won't be much help if the thieves know how to run -- it can't move faster than 6MPH -- it could make the difference between a usable photo and a shot of an empty parking lot.

You sadly can't get the Secom drone for personal use, but you might not mind when you see the price. The Japanese firm is asking ¥800,000 ($6,620) to get the drone, and ¥5,000 ($41) per month to keep the security service going. All the same, this is good news for guards who'd rather not make a mad dash to photograph someone when a flying machine could do the job.



These are only going to become more advanced and cheaper

They're gonna have to pay someone a great deal smarter, a whole lot more money than your average Rent-A-Cop gets paid, to run a six-thousand-dollar toy helicopter without crashing it (which will happen anyway because of the law of averages.) Buying a base-model, 4-cyl. white pick-up truck and hiring lonely losers for nine bucks an hour seems more cost efficient.

Oh, and how good is the drone after dusk? How easy is it to crash into a tree at night? Does the guy who operates it need to see it? Is there a command center or tower it needs to be flown from? If the guard can fly it from a laptop in the guard trailer, does he need special software or a back-up computer in case the battery goes dead or the damn thing glitches out? Does it have spot-lights? Are they directional? How about recharge time for the batteries? Does the employer need to have a half-dozen of these, fully charged in a shed for back-up when one goes down or needs a recharge? What's the electric bill for all this shit? How about maintenance? It IS an all-weather machine with a lot of high-tech gadgets. It'll also be hundreds of feet in the sky and probably made mostly of plastic. What about insurance for the fucking thing? If that thing crashes through a neighbor's window and wipes out a baby crib, there's gonna be Hell to pay. What if the damn thing runs out of juice and wipes out a five year old little girl pedaling her My Little Pony Big Wheel? What if the moron flying it falls asleep or crashes it into the building(s) being secured, or worse yet, his own guard shack or the Port-A-Potty?

It's a neat gimmick but I don't see someone using this for a dilapidated, hundred-year-old shithole. A Super-Max Correctional Facility? Sure. An Active Armed Forces base of operations? In a heartbeat. Active nuclear power plants? Most definitely. The old silk mill by the river? Nope. The old church the vagrants sleep in? Nope. The abandoned school that Radical Ed grills hot dogs on the roof of while enjoying an ice cold beer? Nope.

This shit is silly.

Great, now I have to carry a BB gun or catapult on explores.

AA paint ball gun loaded with marbles.
Skeet shooting and sploring.

Its kind of funny (at least in my warped mind) to think a kid with a little Daisy Red Ryder can take down a $6000 drone. Maybe that's why they recently passed a bunch of laws all over the place about shooting drones, Ive had my sights I mean eyes on one for some time.

Hey how about a Zebco spin casting rod with a little lead weight that's not shooting is it? Why no sir Mr Federal Aviation officer I was just fishing for sky bass and that stupid thing got tangled up in my line

Shoot it with a fucking potato.

While it won't be much help if the thieves know how to run -- it can't move faster than 6MPH -- it could make the difference between a usable photo and a shot of an empty parking lot.

Yeah, nobody would ever end up knocking one of those out of the sky...

Haha! If these became common, we'd all have to start carrying nets with long sticks!

Have no fear DroneDefender is here.

KEK I say.


you know the same guys who run off with security cameras and nothing else will probably just steal the drone anyways. Best part is if you just go indoors. Plus, if you see one cover up your plates with a cloth, or just put a tarp over your car.

Ed is right. Nowadays you need a Drone Piloting license to fly those things legally. And from what I hear they aren't easy to get.

Plus the potato gun thing.

I loved the idea of UAVs and drones early on. Then, all those douche canoes had to go and ruin it for everyone. I saw an octocopter taking pics at a triathlon, and I wanted nothing more than to nail it with a rock.

On the plus side, all of these autonomous drones means more parts for my improvised weapons : )

Wow, I guess there really are quite a lot of people who have no problems with destruction of private property without justification.

But really. Is a drone with a camera much different than a regular surveillance camera? All you get is a high angle, shaky, lower visibility picture. It would be less for identification and more of awareness so personnel could intervene.

It's more that just destruction of private property. The way that some folks misuse UAV technology pisses me off, and having a bunch of autonomous tattle tale drones buzzing around a cool spot would piss me off even more. It'll be just like some dystopian future novel, only the robots won't kill you. They'll just annoy the shit out of the general population. Yes, I would toss a rock at a security drone all day every day.

I'm okay with some uses of drone tech, but there'll be a tipping point where it gets out of hand.

Agreed, for one instance Amazon's new drone service is neat, have a robot that needs no sleep mail your stuff to you. It gets there faster than mail, and is a general improvement upon service. This? No, this is just annoying. There's a difference between being "secure" and being "paranoid."

literally for 90% of the people on the site all the owner has to do is put up a sign saying;

"Please don't explore or photograph this location, I would prefer it remain untouched, thank you."

and about most of us would probably respect that. Hell, if they left their contact, we'd probably ask nicely too. only problem is with many places there IS no ownership lookup service, so we don't know how to get in touch. For instance, my local area has no way of finding out who owns what other than going straight to city hall with the address.

Posted by azuro1125 Yes, I would toss a rock at a security drone all day every day.

Until interfering with security drones is declared a national security threat and made a felony. Then if they manage to get a picture of you throwing the rock, you're boned.

And by the time this tech becomes cheap enough to fly and replace parts (maybe 10-20 years in the future), the idea of threatening a done being a national security threat is totally reasonable.

Yeah candidly speaking, all joking aside, knocking down cams is a sure fire way to get arrested. Did you come to explore or vandalize?

One of key things that led to the destruction of Pennhurst was relentless attacks on its security system. Once the security system was gone it opened the gates to scrappers, vandals, and those lame tea candle arsonists.

Well as far as drone legislation, The FAA has just announced that mandatory drone registration for aircraft between 0.55 and 55 pounds starts December 21st and all drones must be registered with a name, address and email by February 16th 2016.

There are a lot of people operating unmanned aircraft unsafely. I have seen them over crowded beaches, road races, parks. Batteries die and they can cause damage. This was never a problem with RC clubs flying at designated fields but the ease of flying has really allowed stupidity in the sky's.

This is an interesting topic because it does present a real threat to urban exploring. I recently was talking to a (step)family member over the holidays about exploring and what's new in the local area. He told me about his most recent visits to 2 federal abandonments with some friends where they were "approached" by one of these humming buggers.

Upon scoping out and beginning to approach the site he heard a loud buzzing noise rising from the treeline, low and behold this thing comes barreling at them. This is where my memory gets a little fuzzy, as I know he told me they had to run, but I can't recall if this was after some security people came like they were following the drone.

My guess is they have motion detectors, possibly heat/infrared sensors too, and send that little devil into the sky to inspect whatever may be tripping them off.

In my opinion, that's one hell of a security system. Sure, they may only be able to move between 6-10MPH, but when that thing is 5 stories up, and, even worse, is equipped with an HD/Wide-Angle camera, it's gonna have viewing range of like half a mile. Sure, it may not be able to pick up the details of your face, or what pattern is on your shirt, but it's gonna know what direction you're headed. And if that's the case, consider your POE, parking spot, and pathway compromised.

As for Speed's initial posting and for a couple others' points made, absolutely, this model won't be hot seller to security companies with a price tag like that. However, there are much more budget friendly models out there that's equivalent to something like this.

Posted by Speed These are only going to become more advanced and cheaper

May this echo through your head