Drones Project « Solomon Asch Center

‘Unite against the parasites’: how do white supremacists exploit antisemitism to mobilize non-white groups? April 14, 2025 Ariel Koch a Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy, Reichman University institution, Herzliya, Israelb International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israelc Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism (ISGAP), New York City, USADr. Ariel Koch is a lecturer at the Lauder School of Government and a Research Fellow at both the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). His research focuses on transnational extremist movements, hate groups, and violent digital subcultures, with particular emphasis on the convergence of diverse forms of violent extremism. Dr. Koch teaches undergraduate courses and regularly lectures to policymakers, security professionals, academic audiences, and educational institutions in Israel and internationally.
The base: an analysis of recruiting, vetting, and motivations of potential members March 28, 2025 Rebecca A. Wilson Katherine Kountz John P. Hendry Allison Betus Mor Yachin Dror Walter Michael Loadenthal Anthony F. Lemieux a Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAb Department of Communication, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAc Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAd School of Public and International Affairs, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Stabilizing post-conflict states: evaluating the impact of resources December 31, 2024 Rula Jabbour Michelle Black Abigail Cawley a Department of Political Science, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincolnb Department of Political Science, Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NEc Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Development Department, Lincoln, NE
The science of zero-sum thinking: a scoping review of 10 years of empirical research December 30, 2024 Lucas Heiki Matsunaga Jacob Petersen Toshiaki Aoki Cristiane Faiad a Department of International Environment and Resources Policy, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japanb Center for International Education, Iwate University, Morioka, Japanc Department of Clinical Psychology and Culture, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
Psycholinguistic signals of terrorist attacks December 24, 2024 Natasha K. Mather Michael D. Young Shilpa Hanchinal a Department of History, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USAb Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USAc Leadership Analysis and Influence Operations Laboratory(LA/IO), Albany, NY, USA

AgriRover brings Mars rover technology to the farm

This prototype is designed for constant, high-resolution surveying and adjustment of soil properties – a farmer’s Roomba. This design came from a team in New Zealand, providing another indication of the increasingly international character to the unmanned vehicles industry.

Family of grandmother killed in US drone strike arrive for Congress visit

Many have suggested that Congress primarily hears about the drone strikes from the military and intelligence communities, who generally wish to defend their operations. This attempt to give voice to the other side of the story comes at a time of rising discontent over the US drone strikes, both abroad and at home.

Pakistani Party Votes to Block NATO Supply Lines if Drones Persist

On 1 Nov. a drone strike killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud. Pakistani opinion on drone strikes being what it is, this event has touched off a political firestorm in Pakistan, culminating in the resolution discussed in this article. Many in Pakistan believe that the United States made this high-profile strike to […]

DARPA Plans to Arm Drones With Missile-Blasting Lasers

Lasers have long been the headline-grabbing weapon of the future, so it is perhaps no surprise that they should appear along with drones. Though already deployed and widely used, drones and other robotic systems still have an aura of science fiction about them. Time will tell if the weight and size requirements defined by lasers […]

Drone Issue Hovers More Than Ever, Even as Strikes Ebb

In further fallout from the previously noted Amnesty International/Human Rights Watch report, the Pakistani government’s ability to deny cooperation with the US drone strikes program is a looking particularly doubtful, perhaps contributed to the increase in Prime Minister Sharif’s attempts to end the strikes.

US drone strikes could be classed as war crimes, says Amnesty International

Variations of this story have been produced by many major news organizations around the world, including the New York Times (“Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes Cited in Report“, “The Deaths of Innocents“), al Jazeera (“US strikes condemned in rights report“) in addition to the Guardian story directly linked by this post. This appears to be […]

SenseFly and Drone Adventures Toss UAVs Off the Summit of Matterhorn

Not only did these drones get good aerial photographs of very rough terrain, they used teamwork to do so. In labs, roboticists are developing the methods for dozens or robots to work together, but for now six UAVs coordinating flight patterns and dividing a job between them are an impressive sample of things to come.

Rise of the drone hobbyists

The drone industry owes much to the hobbyists and universities who developed much of the technology. Going forward, the industry will owe even more to the hobbyists for creating acceptance and familiarity amongst the wider public. The article mentions the recent story of a man who died in an accident involving his drone helicopter. The […]

Q&A: Privacy implications for aerial drones

The greatest public concern over domestic drone use is that of privacy. At last weekend’s Drones and Aerial Robotics Conference held at New York University, a legal scholar considered what drones meant for privacy, and suggested that perhaps recent technological advances required some changes to how we think about what privacy is. It is far […]

Machine gun-toting robots may soon back up U.S. soldiers

Various kinds of unmanned vehicles have long been used in war – from self-guiding missiles and torpedoes to the more recent bomb-disposal robots. This article points toward a future where unmanned vehicles will not just track targets selected by humans or keep humans out of dangerous situations, but actively and autonomously assist human soldiers.

Published by the University of Texas Press the book features 100 of Hyman's photographs and six critical essays that depict and discuss the emotional aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks -- a time when people from all walks of life created and encountered memorials to those who were murdered. Vernacular art appeared almost everywhere—on walls, trees, playgrounds, vehicles, houses, tombstones, and even on bodies. This outpouring of grief and other acts of remembrance impelled photographer Jonathan Hyman to document and preserve these largely impermanent, spontaneous expressions. This book, a unique archive of 9/11 public memory, is the result of his compiling a collection of 20,000 photographs, along with field notes and personal interviews. For more information about the book or to purchase it, visit the book's page at Amazon or Facebook.

Sramana Majumdar

Exposure Index

Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict

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