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).

German chancellor’s drone “attack” shows the threat of weaponized UAVs

A small UAV was dropped at the chancellor’s feet, an effective statement by a member of the opposition party. The potential for a more bloodthirsty application (assassinations and has raised many concerns, possibly to the detriment of the potential benefit of unmanned vehicles. The article suggests directed energy weapons as an active defense against such […]

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 […]

Preflight Turbulence for Commercial Drones

The article examines the “moral hazard” of drone surveillance: airplane surveillance is expensive, drones significantly decrease that cost-effectiveness barrier.

Remote-Controlled Model Helicopter Fatally Strikes Its Operator

Accidental deaths of this sort are a certainty as UAVs become more popular. Previous accidents such as the German drone near-collision with an passenger liner in Afghanistan are avoidable with improved integration and air traffic control methods – unfortunate accidents of this sort are far less avoidable.

Self-driving carmakers will have to pry steering wheel from some cold, dead hands

Even if the technical challenges were to be solved overnight, it appears the cultural problems would delay widespread driverless car usage for a very long time.

Drones Take Off in Silicon Valley

The company featured in this article compares its product to an operating system, providing a level of abstraction and ease of use for users of unmanned vehicles. This is a popular idea right now, though it remains to be seen which version, if any, take off.

Drone wars hit the states

This article points to the recent activity on unmanned vehicles related legislation in state governments. Almost all of the activity is focused on privacy fears.

Ex-Lawyer in State Department Criticizes Drone Secrecy

Part of the problem with the secrecy is that most of the laws and court decisions regulating the use of drones are also classified. It’s hard for citizens to trust when it’s impossible to verify – or to even know what standards drone use is supposed to be tested against.

Falcon UAV Puts Deer Trail Colorado on the Map…..Literally….Sort of….

In the continuing saga of Deer Trail, Colorado, the proposal for bounty on drones will go to a special vote for all residents. Falcon UAV is trying to turn this into a PR coup by showing residents (and those watching the town) how useful drones are. It remains to be seen whether this effort is […]

Paul finds drone he likes

Even Rand Paul can appreciate a drone if it does something for him and isn’t invading his privacy. This example underscores how truly necessary it is for unmanned vehicles to not be restricted to military/police uses.