Sramana Majumdar

"Violence, Identity and Self-determination: Narratives of conflict from the Kashmir Valley" 4:15 PM, Monday 18 Nov Room 239, BYC Bryn Mawr College

Exposure Index

Tired of paper and pencil questionnaires about integration and intergroup contact? Try the new and improved EXPOSURE INDEX (click tab above on this page).

Falcon UAV Supports Colorado Flooding Until Grounded by FEMA

Falcon UAV was getting some good PR by helping map the rapidly changing contours of the flooded areas of Colorado. However, when FEMA arrived, they grounded the drones. This story is entirely based on the company-written article linked from this post, but apparently the weather has often made manned flights impossible, and manned flights are […]

Canadian mounties claim first person’s life saved by a police drone

This is a perfect example of a UAV-assisted search and rescue mission, demonstrating the benevolent potential of the technology.

Air Guard unit OK’d to fly drones in Syracuse area

According to this press release, a New York wing of the Air National Guard has been General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers instead of manned aircraft for three years. Following the trend of increased domestic drone use, their operational area has recently been expanded.

Pterodactyl-like bot “Daler” uses its wings for walking

A sign of greater flexibility to come, this design can both fly and walk. The proposed application is search and rescue – getting to a disaster zone and then being able to go into the rubble to look for survivors. Note, though, that the article’s example for UAVs is military drones “raining death from above”.

Pilotless drones to fly over England looking for missing walkers

Search and rescue is a perfect field for UAVs, and, according to polls, one of the least controversial. However, this article starts out with the sentence “Pilotless drones usually used in war will be spying on the English countryside to find missing walkers”. This approach reflects and reinforces the extent to which public opinion views […]