Microdrones, meet my model airplane.

I model airplane from Maplin accelerated to ramming speed - priceless. For everything else you have Mastercard.

The Daily Mail

will explode when it gets wind of this. I for one welcome our search engine overlords having a nosey through the bathroom window.

This is one area in which Bing Maps totally crushes Google's offering

although I imagine there'll be a round of reports of air-rifle deployments against the Google menace

first to say it... Blurbverts !

We can expect the Burger Cops to be coming soon.

Microsoft is already offering such images

I was waiting for Google to add areal pictures, IE is already offering such highly detailed images, each location viewable from 4 directions. They call it birds eye.

Of course, no such facts will stand in the way of another round of Google bashing by a bunch of paranoid hippies ;)

"I caught it, can I take it home?"

Big butterfly net at the ready if it's flying anywhere near my house. Bagsy one high tech peeping tom flying machine.

Try that in the Countryside Google.

One word.

PULL!!!!!!!

Now gerroff my laaaannd!!

Yes please

So where do we apply to come and work with these things? :-D

Look like fun and i'm sure Google won't be the only ones flying them around soon. 1.2KG is quite a payload on something that size..

how much of the air space do I have rights too??

over my land of course....

Its Duck Season!

Its Wabbit Season@!

Its Duck Season!

.

.

.

Shoot 'em now, Doc. Shoot 'em now!

<Bang>

Oops! Thought it was duck 8 )

Penguin - closest thing to a duck available... Where is our Warner Bros Icon :)

How long before Google go all the way.

And purchase some of the unarmed 1st generation Predator drones?

Spy Sats, Cars and now Planes??

When do they change the name to Skynet and drop the "no" from their motto??

Until then, looking forwards to the spy shots of a certain celebs bedroom

Nostalgia.

The likes of The Beano hark back to the days when no kid would be seen out without a catty in his back pocket, for those serendipitous moments that a target of opportunity and a handy pebble/conker/acorn/sheepshit would be found together.

Looks like those days may be about to return.

Off now to find a cleft stick and nick a piece of 'laccy from my mum's sewing box.

I want one on my wall...

Put me down as a prospective hunter as well, though I too will use my air rifle as I expect the neighbours are likely to notice if I use any of my firearms.

Anonymous posting as Google are probably monitoring these comments...

Unfair competition

Shirley, this is unfair competition for the Reg's own PARIS?

Viagra

"A battery-powered md4-1000 quadcopter can stay up for over an hour..."

Sheeple

You lot wander into the surveillance society like cattle to the abattoir. Bad enough your own government keeping its citizens under surveillance, but when a foreign company does it, not a tweet.

The Technology To Counter This Threat Is Already Out There !

Enter the USB missile launcher.

There may be some other interesting encounters :-

Birds of prey attacking these things,

Domestic pets such as cats and dogs catching them if too low.

So when you google to a skyview and get an up close of 'Ginger' the tom you know that it's not quite tangoed, but almost certainly mangled. Could prove embarrasing if 'Ginger' takes the contraption inside as a gift for his human as cats do ! Doris from number 47 caught with the milkman, again, even though she shops at Waitrose !

Better get me annorak !

Haven't they learned anything...

... from their recent Street View fiasco? If I where them I'd be laying low, instead of playing with spy drones. I can just imagine seeing one of those things floating outside my window, maybe while I'm complaining about Google, or... *quickly glances out window*. They are trying to map the world on the ground and from above. How about below; drones that scour the plumbing.

Might we say then...

Given the original quote from the article:

"[...] and it's certainly true that Google has form in this area, [...]"

Might it be better said that:

"[...] and it's certainly true that Google has Phorm in this area, [...]"

I'll get me coat....

Wonderful

I can see a wonderful blending of tokyo-marui tech. You know, those wonderful folks in Japan who make both airguns and RC aircraft. I knew they put extra buttons on the controller for some reason.

What the fuck!

I mean what the fucking fuck! Are we really going to let the Gooplicants get away with this?

shooting air rifles might be illegal

(at least they are in Oz), but paintball guns.......

Haven't they learned anything... #

Dear- A handle is required

They may have learned to spell however.

Many Angry Idiots...

so after the conclusion Jumpers have all thrown a wobbly, lets post some proper thoughts...

I do not believe these will be used to image in the same way Microsoft do. (so people calm down) in MS that have already done it! without you even noticing....

I do believe these will be used to extend street view to popular places that are not so easily accessible by the gCars for example Trafalgar square. if you want to be able to see it properly on SV it needs more view points all across the square, the easiest way to capture these may be by drone. likewise parks, and well known paths on open ground like say national parks. the coast to coast walk etc...

so once again, I say CALM down dear. Put your pitchforks away, you can all sleep safely, knowing that Google probably wont destroy the world today.

Daily Mail

cant wait for the day you can dial one up and get it to mosey around the neighour hood remotely by web control! - extra cool if it had loud speaker too!

as others have commented, the Daily Mail will go ballistic when they hear about this one!?

"think of the children" before you know it paedos, perverta and immigrants will be ruling the skys and threatening the very fabric of society... of course unless the Jones'es get one and then it will be next years must have! (after all, if you have nothing to hide...)

I like Google Earth

I like Google Earth, the fact that it's free is helping keep satnavs from rocketing in price.

And it's useful so if they don't steal WiFi data this time then i don't see a problem with it.