[liberationtech] Drones are not storytellers or why Syrians need better storytelling was Re: Pirate Bay turns to drones
Gregory Foster
gfoster at entersection.org
Mon Mar 26 16:32:52 PDT 2012
A thought, springing from my work with Public Laboratory
<http://publiclaboratory.org/> [ @PublicLab
<https://twitter.com/PublicLab> ] on kite- and balloon-based mapping
<http://publiclaboratory.org/tool/balloon-mapping> to generate on-demand
aerial imagery with resolutions an order of magnitude greater than
publicly-available satellite imagery:
According to Public Labs' summary of FAA regulations concerning
exemptions for small balloons
<http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/balloon-mapping-regulations>, the
rope/cable used to tether the balloon does not count as part of the
payload. Is it reasonable to consider whether we could produce a
lightweight-enough tether which integrates cabling for wired data
transfer between the balloon payload and the ground station? Category 5
cables <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable> are only rated
for segments of 100m without repeaters, but that height provides
substantial coverage of a geography. That's also sufficient height to
enable LOS between balloons in all but the most vertical of metropolitan
areas.
There will be plenty of challenges regarding balloon stabilization, but
I wonder if this might open up some interesting possibilities. Here I'm
thinking of suspending radios as the balloon payload to provide
substantial wireless coverage whilst preserving available bandwidth by
using the data-tether to provide Internet-uplink via the ground
station. Sensors could be deployed without exposure of traffic over the
air.
Those are just suggested configurations, wondering if the data-tether
tech itself is desirable and possible.
gf
On 3/23/12 12:51 PM, Isaac Wilder wrote:
> From a strategic standpoint, near-space dirigible platforms seem much
> more promising than powered-flight drones.
>
> FAA regs allow for two 6-lbs payloads per craft.
>
> At 30km up, not much good for recon, but definitely able to support
> communications. LOS to a 400+ km radius. Oil companies and the Air
> Force have been deploying this stuff for years.
>
>
> Just a thought.
>
>
> Isaac Wilder
> Director, The Free Network Foundation
> www.thefnf.org
>
>
> On 03/23/2012 12:37 PM, Brian Conley wrote:
>> And this is exactly the piece that so many are missing:
>>
>> “At the end of the day,” according to the first expert I consulted,
>> “a drone is a tool, and the strategic advantage it may provide will
>> also depend on the funda-mental unity, planning, and discipline that
>> a movement has or does not have. For example, if a movement is
>> lacking a fundamentally good and unifying message, no amount of
>> technology will substitute for that, and thus the strategic value of
>> that technology is diminished in the context of that movement. On
>> the other hand if a movement has a good and unifying message and
>> levers technology to reinforce that message, then the technology can
>> act as a multiplier and provide substantially more strategic value.”
>>
>> my corollary is that you also have to focus on telling that message,
>> telling your story, not just exposing crimes and heinous acts, those
>> encourage pity, not solidarity.
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 23, 2012 at 10:13 AM, Andrew Lewis <andrew at pdqvpn.com
>> <mailto:andrew at pdqvpn.com>> wrote:
>>
>> I sent that draft before I finished it. I meant to add/say that
>> drones can provide a view that on the ground can't, as well as be
>> utilized as a communication platform for a wide area without
>> resorting to sending satellites up or the associated costs with
>> space programs. Amongst other advantages.
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Mar 23, 2012, at 5:05 PM, "Patrick Meier (Ushahidi)"
>> <patrick at ushahidi.com <mailto:patrick at ushahidi.com>> wrote:
>>
>>> Some thoughts on The Use of Drones for Nonviolent Civil
>>> Resistance
>>> <http://irevolution.net/2012/02/18/drones-for-civil-resistance/>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Mar 23, 2012 at 1:01 PM, Andrew Lewis <andrew at pdqvpn.com
>>> <mailto:andrew at pdqvpn.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I never indicated it would, but it would defiantly be
>>> complementary, as well as useful for things outside Syria.
>>>
>>> It is not an either or situation as you are portraying it,
>>> and as videos from drones in Russia/Poland illustrate not
>>> only are video resolution getting better, but they can
>>> provide an overview that on the ground coverage.
>>>
>>> Andrew
>>>
>>> On Mar 23, 2012, at 4:49 PM, Brian Conley
>>> <brianc at smallworldnews.tv <mailto:brianc at smallworldnews.tv>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Not only the development costs, but the litigation/jail
>>>> time costs as well are a huge issue with more innovative
>>>> applications of drone tech.
>>>>
>>>> Further, the idea of implementing drones in Syria first of
>>>> all is a huge safety risk, and could fundamentally change
>>>> the perception of an already hostile regime to encourage
>>>> increasingly worse actions.< /div>
>>>>
>>>> Secondly, the drones for human rights stuff all forgets a
>>>> fundamental issue, people care about stories, not grainy
>>>> footage, unless the crimes are so enormous, and even then
>>>> they don't encourage action nor do they help inform
>>>> outsiders what exactly Syrians want or need.
>>>>
>>>> For example, there is a fundamental difference between
>>>> videos like these that Iraqis we worked with in Baghdad
>>>> were producing years ago:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVib2fMtP1w
>>>>
>>>> http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org/2008/07/28/al-sahwa-mistakes-in-adhamiya/
>>>>
>>>> http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/10/08/us-military-destroys-iraqi-homes-by-mistake/
>>>>
>>>> ...and shaky content and long range images of what often
>>>> may or may not be the "heinous crimes" individuals claim.
>>>>
>>>> see this video for example:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kQMSkdo_jc&feature=player_embedded
>>>> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kQMSkdo_jc&feature=player_embedded>
>>>>
>>>> I think its pretty clear why more efforts are not being
>>>> made to more effectively and repeatedly tell the stories of
>>>> individual refugees and people who have lost homes and
>>>> loved ones. The people documenting are most often men, and
>>>> as a man who has had the same problem myself when
>>>> documenting police violence, war, etc, we too often resort
>>>> to documenting horrible events, both because we are shocked
>>>> and because that involves an adrenaline rush and provides
>>>> its own sort of benefit to us as individuals, and leaves
>>>> beside the wayside any review of whether this content is
>>>> really moving minds or pushing forward a liberation agenda.
>>>>
>>>> As a trainer who has worked with individuals all over the
>>>> world in conflict areas and the developing world, I have
>>>> found that women are the best trainees, followed closely by
>>>> older men. Young people are often too caught up in the
>>>> moment and the injustice of it all to more effectively
>>>> document or listen to recommendations about composition,
>>>> pacing, etc. I guess this is a bit off-topic, but after
>>>> spending a long time in a fairly pointless discussion with
>>>> a man from Hama about this subject last night, I felt the
>>>> need to mention it here.
>>>>
>>>> I'm still trying to sort out exactly why I think the idea
>>>> of drones as human rights documentation may make sense, but
>>>> it certainly cannot replace storytelling or investigative
>>>> reporting.
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Mar 23, 2012 at 9:32 AM, Andrew Lewis
>>>> <andrew at pdqvpn.com <mailto:andrew at pdqvpn.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Yes, telecomix is looking at drones, and really the
>>>> proposal by TPB is outlandish to current drone
>>>> builders/operators, but most of the limitations seem to
>>>> be artificially limited technical issues that no one
>>>> has thought past due to limitations by US/UK/EU
>>>> regulations. If you disregard these rules, long range
>>>> drones are well within the realm of possibility. I
>>>> think an open source drone program is possible, if
>>>> people are willing to commit the resources and accept
>>>> the overall development costs.
>>>>
>>>> Andrew Lewis
>>>> Twitter: ThePunkbob
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>> On Mar 23, 2012, at 4:53 PM, KheOps <kheops at ceops.eu
>>>> <mailto:kheops at ceops.eu>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > Indeed, we're working on drones to film and
>>>> livestream stuff in hostile
>>>> > environment such as Syria :) Will keep you posted if
>>>> something concrete
>>>> > is somehow produced :)
>>>> >
>>>> > On 03/23/2012 04:57 PM, David Johnson wrote:
>>>> >> It sounded ridiculous, but ideas can come from jokes.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> On Fri, Mar 23, 2012 at 9:48 AM, KheOps
>>>> <kheops at ceops.eu <mailto:kheops at ceops.eu>
>>>> >> <mailto:kheops at ceops.eu <mailto:kheops at ceops.eu>>>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> >>
>>>> >> This is a joke - at least according to tetsu0,
>>>> one of the TPB folks :)
>>>> >>
>>>> >> On 03/23/2012 04:44 PM, David Johnson wrote:
>>>> >>> http://thepiratebay.se/blog/210
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> /TPB LOSS/
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> /We were down a few hours earlier today. There's no
>>>> need to worry, we
>>>> >>> haven't been raided this time. We're only upgrading
>>>> stuff since we're
>>>> >>> still growing./
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> /One of the technical things we always optimize is
>>>> where to put our
>>>> >>> front machines. They are the ones that re-direct
>>>> your traffic to a
>>>> >>> secret location. We have now decided to try to
>>>> build something
>>>> >>> extraordinary./
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> /With the development of GPS controlled drones,
>>>> far-reaching cheap
>>>> >> radio
>>>> >>> equipment and tiny new computers like the Raspberry Pi
>>>> >>> <http://www.raspberrypi.org/>, we're going to
>>>> experiment with sending
>>>> >>> out some small drones that will float some
>>>> kilometers up in the air.
>>>> >>> This way our machines will have to be shut down
>>>> with aeroplanes in
>>>> >> order
>>>> >>> to shut down the system. A real act of war./
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> /We're just starting so we haven't figured
>>>> everything out yet. But we
>>>> >>> can't limit ourselves to hosting things just on
>>>> land anymore.
>>>> >> These Low
>>>> >>> Orbit Server Stations (LOSS) are just the first
>>>> attempt. With modern
>>>> >>> radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node
>>>> up to 50km
>>>> >> away. For
>>>> >>> the proxy system we're building, that's more than
>>>> enough./
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> /But when time comes we will host in all parts of
>>>> the galaxy,
>>>> >> being true
>>>> >>> to our slogan of being the galaxy's most resilient
>>>> system. And all of
>>>> >>> the parts we'll use to build //that system on will
>>>> be downloadable./
>>>>
--
Gregory Foster || gfoster at entersection.org
@gregoryfoster<> http://entersection.com/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.stanford.edu/pipermail/liberationtech/attachments/20120326/b6cb68c7/attachment.html>
More information about the liberationtech
mailing list