Drone Surveillance

Drone surveillance is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to capture still images and videos to gather information about specific targets such as individuals, groups, or environments.

Drone surveillance can covertly gather information about targets detected from a distance or high. Drones' ability to fly, small size, and ability to withstand harsh environments often allows them to examine otherwise inaccessible subjects and gain access to first-person perspective (FPV) not normally available to photographers.

Combining computer vision, facial recognition, object recognition, and other tracking technologies, drones are essentially flying robots. Naturalization of the environment, sometimes called ubiquitous robotics, is enabled by a combination of connectivity, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). Advanced AI-enabled drones can adapt to their environment and perform many autonomous tasks, including: For example, chasing a subject to capture how it moves through an area.

No special permission is required for an individual to use her drone under 35 kg. Aircraft over 35 kg require a special flight operation certificate. However, personal drones exceeding this weight are rare. For commercial purposes, the Federal Aviation Administration requires a certificate of the right to operate drones. Other relevant regulations include FAA rules prohibiting flights more than 400 feet or less than 2 miles from an airport.

U.S. drone-related safety and privacy laws are often regulated at the state level, with federal legislation still being drafted. Legislation has not kept up with the growing use of drones. Some states prohibit aerial photography of private property. The gray area of ​​privacy and security issues associated with drone operations can lead to unexpected and potentially ambiguous situations. For example, in Kentucky, William Merides was charged with vandalism after shooting down a drone he claimed was spying on his daughter in his backyard.

Drone surveillance is used by government agencies to obtain information on enemy targets and on corporate competitors for high-level competitive intelligence (CI) gathering. Other uses for drone surveillance include law enforcement, private investigations, espionage, disaster recovery, search and rescue, drone journalism, photography, lidar surveying, and military reconnaissance. Surveillance drones can also be armed during military operations.