Man Knocks Drone Out Of The Sky By Throwing A Spear At It

Drones are fun and all, but critics raise two big concerns: potential safety issues (remember the toddler who lost his eye?), and potential privacy violations. The latter, whether real or perceived, has caused quite a ruckus at times — an entire legal case revolved around someone shooting a drone out of the sky, for example. Arguably the most interesting takedown to date, though, involves a Russian man and his spear.

Not much is known about this valiant soul, excepting that he was at a history festival said to be taking place in central Russia, and that he, apparently, wasn't too happy about a drone modern-ing up their retro gathering. One moment the drone is getting some aerial shots of the group; the next, it is filming its last moments as a spear flies toward its rotors, knocking it out of the sky.

Take a moment to appreciate the brief battle between the archaic and the modern.

Consumer-grade drones are popular and more models are available than ever; they've also garnered quite a few enemies, with many detesting their mere presence in the sky. Nosy neighbors can use them to peer over fences and privacy barriers to see what their neighbors are up to, for example, and those being spied on have few (legal) recourses. Legal battles concerning the airspace over private property continue to hash out squabbles over one's right to privacy versus another's right to fly their quadcopter.

Humans aren't the only ones who taken down drones. A kangaroo, for example, pulled one out of the sky after it continued to follow the creature's group around. As well, humans have looked into employing animals as anti-drone weapons — the Dutch, for example, have used an eagle grab wayward drones out of the sky.

VIA: Digg