Drones for Civilian Surveillance Use

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Unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as Drones, have seen a proliferation in the military over the course of the wars in East Asia. The flying robots, which are often operated from as far away from their locations in Afghanistan and Iraq as Nevada, have been heralded for their ability to take out militants and conduct surveillance without the risk of losing lives.
Of late, however, there has been talk of Drones making the transition to civilian use. As the devices grow ever more affordable, Technology firms are exploring the possibility of utilizing them from everything from wildfire control to farm usage.
“If a farmer needs an image of his farm field to see what conditions are, for example, if you could have a small hand-launched aircraft with a nice, small camera, then you could fly it wherever you want, whenever you want and not have to wait on someone else, and you could probably do it cheaper,” said Tom Nugent President of Aerospace Start-up LaserMotive, which has entered the civilian Drone business.
Drones have also been marketed to law enforcement agencies. Hostage rescue forces in particular have shown interest, as Drones could be utilized to survey the outside of buildings before rescue teams are deployed.
Privacy advocates have expressed concern over what they fear is the over-proliferation of cameras.
“You start to see one or two pop up and then all of a sudden they’re everywhere and before anyone has a chance to think about it we’re being caught on camera hundreds of times per day.” Said Brian Alseth of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Thus far, the Federal Aviation Administration has not issued any permits for widespread use in US airspace.