Programming No-Fly Zones into Drones
DJI is programming no-fly zones into its drone software.
Here’s how it’ll work. The update will add a list of GPS coordinates to the drone’s computer that tells it not to fly around the Washington D.C. area. When users are within a 15-mile restricted zone, the drone’s motors won’t spin up, preventing it from taking off.
If this sounds like digital rights management, it basically is. And it will fail in all the ways that DRM fails. Cory Doctorow has explained it all very well.
Anura • February 12, 2015 2:03 PM
Honestly, unlike DRM, I think it makes a lot of sense to program no-fly-zones or other flight regulations into the drones. The purpose, as I see it, is not to protect against malicious users, the purpose is to protect ignorant users from violating laws that they were unaware of, which they could be prosecuted for.