Now We Don't Need Pilots

[mariomike]

Maybe there's a new line for Uber.

At least they can find you.

You can order Uber - or a pizza - with an app on your cellphone.

70 to 80 percent of 9-1-1 calls are now made from wireless devices. The chances of getting a mobile caller’s location correct varies widely -- from 10 percent to 95 percent, depending on the caller’s distance from a cell tower.

They say that by 2021 our emergency services will be able to find you on your cell phone  ( 4 out of 5 times ). 

 

[Kirkhill]

I see that I am being told that Google Maps is going to be broadcasting my location - unless I find the hidden switch buried in the menus to turn it off.

Perhaps the correct app would be a Beacon icon that I could keep next to my Phone icon so that I could broadcast my location easily when I wanted to.

Would that reduce the response time?

 

[mariomike]

I see that I am being told that Google Maps is going to be broadcasting my location - unless I find the hidden switch buried in the menus to turn it off.

So does Facebook and Domino pizza. 

 

[Kirkhill]

So does Facebook and Domino pizza. 

How's a guy supposed to get away from the wife and kids?

 

[Loachman]

And ISIS kidnappers and the NSA and...

 

[Kirkhill]

A model of the EHang 184 autonomous aerial vehicle is displayed at the World Government Summit 2017 in Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah on February 13, 2017. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

http://www.realclearlife.com/cars/dubai-will-debut-passenger-carrying-drones-summer/

"Dubai Will Debut Passenger-Carrying Drones This Summer

Drones could be ferrying tourists around the skies of Dubai as early as this summer, according to the city’s transportation authority.
After debuting a year ago, the Ehang 184 could be introduced as early as July in a milestone for the transportation industry. The autonomous flying taxi project is part of a plan by the city to have 25 percent of its transportation be self-driving by 2030.

Capable of carrying one passenger, the electric drone travels on a pre-programmed course, selected by the passenger and approved by a flight control center, at approximately 60 miles per hour. Chinese drone manufacturer Ehang has built the autonomous taxi, which travels 1,000 feet in the air, has a maximum flight time of 30 minutes, and recharges in two hours.

The announcement was made after the Ehang 184 was successfully tested in Dubai. It comes on the heels of another futuristic transport concept announced in November. Hyperloop One is planned to connect Abu Dhabi with Dubai. Watch a test flight below."

https://youtu.be/I_XLExB_wyc

Just another opportunity to make Loachman's day.  >

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I know it's a test rig, but eventually they will have to encase the blades and that as I recall will increase the risk of "ring state vortexes"

 

[Kirkhill]

Further to my last.

Apparently there is a "But".

https://www.armytimes.com/articles/the-army-adds-the-dronebuster-to-its-set-of-anti-drone-tools

The Army is adding the 'Dronebuster' to its set of anti-drone tools
By: Todd South, April 23, 2017 (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Vito Bryant)

The newest tool in the Army’s counter-drone arsenal is the "Dronebuster," a 5-pound radar gun-like device that soldiers can use to jam weaponized commercial drones while at remote forward operating bases or on foot patrol.

The Army’s Rapid Equipping Force bought 50 of the devices this month, and they should be delivered in the coming weeks, according to Clay Wild, vice president of marketing for Radio Hill Technologies, a Portland, Oregon-based technology startup.

The device starts at $30,000, depending on accessories, uses five custom antennae and a “technique generator” that uses less than 10 percent of the battery power to create the jamming signal. The power-saving method allows for a smaller device than some competitors, Wild said. ...

More at link.