Because Personal Drones Aren't Subject To Enough Ridiculous Rules, A Graffiti Artist Uses His To Tag A Six-Story Billboard
from the this-is-my-'get-off-my-lawn'-speech dept
Drones are a problem. The FAA has subjected private drone use to all sorts of ridiculous stipulations. Law enforcement agencies seem to feel drone operation should be left to the pros, and are suddenly sprouting privacy concerns whenever a citizen flies one over something of theirs. Our nation's three-letter agencies want to be able to deploy drones almost anywhere without oversight, even though they've proven to be much less efficient than boots on the ground. Then, of course, there are those piloted by the CIA -- the kind that kill foreigners (and the occasional American) with almost no oversight, and what oversight there is has "bought in."
So, with drone usage by citizens still being contested by a variety of federal agencies, this sort of thing doesn't help at all.
KATSU, a well-known graffiti artist and vandal, used a hacked Phantom drone to paint a giant red scribble across Kendall Jenner’s face on one of New York City’s largest and most viewed billboards. By all accounts, it is the first time that a drone has been deployed for a major act of public vandalism.
This is KATSU's proof-of-concept. Last year, he managed to convert an off-the-shelf drone into a weaponized tagging machine by attaching a spray can to a DJI Phantom. It had previously only been deployed indoors to create art on the fly. Now, it appears to be the next step in graffiti/vandalism.
Previously unreachable areas can now be tagged by graffiti artists, although the technique is still far from artistic. An off-the-shelf drone is far more finicky than an average human's hands and wrists, especially considering the force of the aerosol spray can push a drone away from the "canvas."
As far as transgressive art/public statements of intent go, KATSU's tagging of this highly-visible, six-story billboard is, I suppose, appropriately juvenile. It's a "because it's there" statement -- an opportunity to deploy refashioned tech to hand out an old-school defacing. There's no underlying political statement, unless you consider the vandalization of an "unreachable" target to be some sort of clunky metaphor for the little people toppling the powers that be. Civil disobedience, this isn't.
What this will do is result in increased suspicion by any law enforcement officer who encounters someone piloting a drone. This isn't a positive development by any means, especially when the FAA seems more likely to let the government's (all bodies, from national to local) worst fears guide its future regulation. And this is piled on top of its pre-existing (and not entirely unreasonable) fears of airline flight interference. There are plenty of positive uses for personal drones, but most legislators and regulators won't be able to see past the spectacle of a six-story billboard being "owned" by a tiny drone and a cheap can of spray paint.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: graffiti, personal drones
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Graffiti artist? Yeah, right.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
of *course* there is an inherent political 'statement'...
(is korporate puffery such protected fee speech that it is a desecration to deface it ? ...to refute it ? ...to mock it ? ? ? )
the whole '...with a drone' bullshit is the new '...on the internet' escape-from-rational-thinking clause...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Of course, given our recent history the authorities will probably shoot the technology instead of the vandals/criminals.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
A drone is a aircraft being flown by a flight computer on a pre programmed path. 90% of these incidents are RC planes being flown by (Usually stupid) people doing something they shouldn't.
99.9% of RC pilots fly in a safe and smart manner. With all the press on that 0.01%, the idiots in Washington are going to have to Save us from the dangerous Drones, and take away yet another one of our rights.
Sigh
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No inherent 'statement' except that of retardation.
The level of stupidity of the drooling cretin makes most of the clowns in washington DC actually look intelligent.
Random marks on a wall, just like a 2 year old with crayons.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Hopefully the drooler will get hit in the head with his drone.
Really hope he gets hit repeatedly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
why go after the person committing the crime when we can blame an inanimate object instead
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
I think the most egregious example of this phenomena is the word "literally". This word is now used by ignorant people to mean the complete opposite of its original meaning.
This is a bit annoying to say the least.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
I don't get why this should really become an issue. They know who did it, and they know he is an idiot who loves destroying other peoples property. Arrest him, take him to court, make him pay damages, toss him in jail to cool off for a bit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Unfortunately, the .01% of idiots account for most of the laws on the books today. God only need 10 commandments, humanity needs 80,000 pages of laws and regulations.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
with a turret and 2 or 3 paintball colors would do a better job.
but then it would be similar to our murder drones...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
In my area these are already under lock & key. In most stores you have to wait 5 minutes or more for a clerk that has the keys to unlock them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
3: an unmanned aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers
Drones are not necessarily autonomous. Just unmanned.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No inherent 'statement' except that of retardation.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
Mirriam-Webster needs to update their dictionary. (Remember, dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive.)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
This was my point exactly. The dictionary definition is the old one, not the new one.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That was entirely uncreative.
Then you program the computer to position the drone and spray enough to make a mark based as per a pre-made design.
If you want to go the extra mile you add in stroking, where you turn the spray on and then gently move the drone. Turn off the spray when you reach the endpoint of the stroke.
Revolutionary vandalism needs to be recognizable and associated with the revolution. e.g. SECVNDNDVS PRIME SVAE VBI QVE ISSE SALVTE or Viva la Resistance!
Baby steps, I guess.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Punning is the lowest for of wit...
On the fly! Ha Ha!
Geddit?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Resistance or suicide
99% of the spraycan art in this town is the only real estate the artist will ever own. I painted the front concrete, between the curb and the sidewalk chalkboard green, the locals love it.
The high schools here manage to eject way more than half of their male students before they can get a 'diploma' maintaining a buyer's market of black market labor. Of course, a career with the NBA is always open.
I hope one of you guys send KATSU the auto-pilot hack he needs.
P.S.
Personally i despise the fact that my government 'permits' my visual horizon to the highest bider.
See Abbey's 'The Monkey Wrench Gang'
[ link to this | view in thread ]