A few questions come to mind...

Do the usual municipal ordinances against shooting guns into the air within city limits also apply to shooting arrows from long-bows?  How'bout crossbows?  Private drones could be really good for archery practice.  Especially with customized arrows that have harmless balsa wood tips, and trail a couple of strands of piano wire to entangle in the propellers!  (Yeee-hawwwww!)

Do the federal regulations against aiming lasers at aircraft with live human pilots also apply to drones?  After all, if someone wants to make a hobby out of snooping on their neighbors from the sky, the least we can do is see if their spybird will chase a dot around in the air the way a cat chases it around on the wall!  Just as long as no laws are broken, of course.

Is there still an Air Force phone number for reporting UFOs, or should we just report them to the local police?  And, if a few hundred UFO calls come in to police dispatchers every time a strange object is seen buzzing around in the sky, which is obviously too small for a human pilot (it must be an invasion by teeny-tiny ETs!), will the costs to municipalities be passed along to the owners of the strange objects once they're identified? 

Is anyone interested in inventing a TV-B-Gone for drones?

And finally, on a serious note, what do y'all think of raising some money to send one of us (perhaps Eddan if he wants to volunteer) to that conference in New York?  I'd chip in $50 - $100 toward sending someone who has relevant skills & background.  Anyone else?  

-G.


=====


On 13-05-20-Mon 3:26 PM, Eddan Katz wrote:
of likely interest to Sudo folk...

From: Christopher Kin-Man Wong <christopher.k.wong@nyu.edu>
Date: May 20, 2013, 3:08:57 PM PDT
Subject: [Ipprofs] CFP - Drones & Aerial Robotics Conference @ NYU Law, Oct 11-13

Apologies for cross-posting.  

On October 11-13, the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy at NYU School of Law will convene the Drones & Aerial Robotics Conference, a first of it's kind, massively interdisciplinary event to explore a 360 degree view of civilian drones and their impact on society. 

Registration will open in the next few weeks but we're putting out a call for proposals now that I thought would be of interest to many of you.  The CfP is below, and you can find more information at droneconference.org.  Please feel free to distribute widely.  Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.  

Kind regards,
Chris

---

Call for Proposals
Drones & Aerial Robotics Conference
October 11-13, 2013
NYU School of Law

The program committee of the inaugural Drones & Aerial Robotics Conference (DARC) is now inviting proposals from individuals across a broad spectrum of expertise.  DARC will convene a wide range of stakeholders to explore civilian drones and their impact on society.  The conference is presented by the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy at NYU School of Law and will be held October 11-13, 2013.  We invite contributions from all interested disciplines on or before May 27, 2013.  

ABOUT DARC

What do hobbyists, journalists, university researchers, soldiers, and police all have in common? They're all testing or using aerial robotics, commonly called "drones."

Imagine a near future in which networks of autonomous robots roam the skies, performing everything from law enforcement, to communications, to crop dusting, shipping and logistics.  Sound implausible? It might be. But that's the future that the aerospace industry, the FAA, and a new class of entrepreneurs are busy preparing.  And this future is closer to reality than many realize.  Drones force a broad reconsideration of the laws and regulatory frameworks that protect vital interests like civil liberties, due process, privacy, innovation, and security.  But they also herald new innovations and new public interest applications.

These technologies are powered by some of the same phenomena that propel the mobile industry—Moore's law, economies of scale, and ever more sophisticated software built by large companies or open source hackers. Anyone can buy a toy drone at the mall for $299, assemble a relatively capable DIY drone for $1000, or buy a sophisticated $50,000 aircraft for amateur photogrammetry.

As the FAA scrambles to meet its 2015 integration deadline—which will open domestic airspace to hobby aircraft as well as the types of aircraft that currently fly over Afghanistan—DARC provides a forum for entrepreneurs, policy makers, and civil libertarians to constructively engage.  Join us this Fall to explore this fascinating, emergent space.

PROPOSALS

There are few technologies that stimulate such deep and wide-ranging questions about law, technology, and international relations. We welcome all proposals, but please stay substantive and constructive.  This list is not exhaustive, but we invite proposals along the following lines:
  • Anecdotal talks
  • Popular research
  • Demos or tutorials
  • Scholarly research
  • Constructive discussions
Proposals should address -- but are not limited to -- our five main areas of interest:
  • General Interest & Zeitgeist
  • Makers & Entrepreneurs
  • Law & Regulation
  • Privacy & Surveillance
  • Security

Proposals can be submitted via the conference website at https://droneconference.org/proposals.  Proposals will be accepted until May 27, 2013.  Questions may be sent to contact@droneconference.org


--
Christopher Wong
Executive Director
Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy
NYU School of Law
Wilf Hall 408
212.998.6595
christopher.k.wong@nyu.edu
______________________________


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