-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 12/04/2012 07:34 AM, Joseph Pollack wrote:

I'm looking into how tough and expensive and illegal it would be to use DIY or low-cost UAVs to restore connectivity or "gather" messages (SOS or otherwise) from populations affected by humanitarian crises. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Looking at the illegal bit first, if somewhere is in bad enough shape that you have to set up a guerilla communications network to assist in disaster relief, chances are you've got a pretty good leg to stand on. IANAL, call your own, #include <std/disclaimer.h> That said, it's something a few of us have worked on. There are a couple of drones that are relatively low cost (most of them quadcopters) that appear to have enough lift to transport small mesh nodes for short distances and perch someplace to conserve motor power. The 3d printed quadcopters that Telecomix were examining might work for this purpose (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17612). To my knowledge, we haven't examined this one (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22537) closely because I haven't had time to spend on HacDC's 3D printers. For both models, the possibility of using hacked Android devices for the network nodes themselves came up a number of times. There is also a hacker working on porting Byzantium Linux to the ARM platform, because he wants to try it on the RaspberryPi. We don't know where he's at with that project right now. It should also be relatively easy to repurpose a more conventional model craft (like the toy quadcopters resembling Thingiverse entry #22537 above) into mobility platforms for mesh nodes. So long as the network node had sufficient power (I kind of like the idea of the solar charger in an envelope kits that were going around at HOPE9 - I forget who manufactured them but they're cheap and designed to be used as trickle chargers) for wireless and the motors of the drone could be shut down to conserve their power cells, the keys would be positioning and stability of perch. - -- The Doctor [412/724/301/703] [ZS (MED)] Developer, Project Byzantium: http://project-byzantium.org/ PGP: 0x807B17C1 / 7960 1CDC 85C9 0B63 8D9F DD89 3BD8 FF2B 807B 17C1 WWW: https://drwho.virtadpt.net/ If patience is bitter, the result is sweet. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.19 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAlC+LKwACgkQO9j/K4B7F8E0yQCgq0P9VS9h4EsaWcB990fy576E vcsAnRtA6ARe5ftIO0sxJECc2AdyJ5jh =nCFc -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ drone-list mailing list drone-list@lists.stanford.edu Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/drone-list If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily digest?" You will need the user name and password you receive from the list moderator in monthly reminders. Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE