I have been invited to do video broadcasting from anti-ACTA demonstration that happened on 11th February in Tartu, Estonia - one of many protests of this kind that took place in Europe this saturday. Of course, I took hexa (arducopter based) with me - idea was to make some photos from above, if that would be possible..
Friday evening however I decided that actually I can "spice it up" a bit...
On saturday it was really cold - I'd say about -15C degrees.. Event was planned to start at 1pm, so at noon there was nobody on site (above)
25 minutes before event start square looked like this:
then it started, and it looked something like that:
So, you ask where's the "spice"? Spice was that video from flying hexa was streamed directly to the web, and people around the world could see the video, and I personally think that this is very very cool :)
People were incredibly friendly - when asked by organizers to "make some jumping for the copter" they all started jumping (I will make some video a bit later, there are some cool shots in it..) :) Of course I know that people love our hobby, but so many people at the same time.. It's great feeling to get so much positive feedback :)
thx,
jk
p.s. Yes I know, it wasn't safest thing in the world to do. Yes I know, many will consider it dangerous and irresponsible. But sometimes you just disregard rules and do something insane.. I wasn't "over the heads" for too long, most of the time behind the stage (you can see it on last screenshot), but ... - yes, I know... But it was special day and I took that risk, that's the only excuse.
p.p.s. Now it came out that someone thought there have been a "military" drone, conspiracy and stuff, and even tweeted about it.. But actually it's just a little hexa running arducopter :) Someone, let the guy know he's wrong :)
Comments
On the issue of identification, it might be best to wear one of those bright, reflective vests that you see down below. Perhaps a different color than the rest (florescent orange?), and mark the vest with "DRONE OPERATOR" or something similar.
Also might help to make the drone a bright, "nonthreatening" color. Maybe the same color as your vest, for continuity. We tend to associate gray and black with military and police.
If at all possible, it's good to include visible lettering on the drone such as "PRESS," to make it more clear what your mission is.
Thats pretty cool stuff.
I just answered to the guy via twitter, linking to this blog post:
https://twitter.com/#!/simonech/status/168814491490992128
Maybe DiYDrones can come up with a t-shirt, so people don't mistake you for military. I know DiYDrones store sells apparel, but it's too discreet plain black or white with no flashy logo.