138
submitted 15 hours ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Summary

Chinese drone company DJI has removed its geofencing feature that automatically restricted drone flights over sensitive areas, like airports, wildfires, and government buildings, replacing it with dismissible warnings.

The decision follows growing distrust in Chinese-made drones and U.S. regulatory changes.

DJI argues this empowers operators while aligning with global standards, but critics worry it could endanger safety, particularly for unaware pilots.

Previously, geofencing helped prevent incidents, like a DJI drone crash at the White House in 2015.

top 15 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] BedSharkPal@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 hours ago

Just in time the for the inauguration? Interesting timing ..

[-] galaskorz@discuss.online 1 points 5 hours ago

Yep. But, we are wimps.

[-] SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world 16 points 13 hours ago

While this is a bad move on DJI's part, maybe it will also force some changes to drone related security.

Fencing on just the user end only protects against Uncle Bob and his ignorance, not someone actually ill intentioned.

[-] Typotyper@sh.itjust.works 36 points 15 hours ago

So they want sale and ownership of their drones to be banned in the US and eventually Europe

[-] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 8 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

US drone manufacturers don't do this. DJI was going "above and beyond" here. And it is annoying to users because their fencing was broader than what the FAA allows.

[-] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 hours ago

Ahh, drones. The newest boogieman that nobody understands but is an expert on...

[-] Anarki_ 16 points 15 hours ago

Let idiots get their expensive toys taken away if they want.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 4 points 14 hours ago

This goes way beyond toys. Geofencing does things like stop people flying drones into nuclear power plants. The DJI Mavic can hold up to 30 kg. More than enough for a lot of explosive material.

[-] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 16 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Where are you getting 30KG?

https://enterprise.dji.com/mobile/mavic-3-enterprise/specs?startPoint=312

The highest takeoff weight I can find on their site is the Matrice 600 Pro at 15kg, but 10 of that is the drone and its batteries.

[-] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 7 points 7 hours ago

It could grip it by the husk.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I guess Google lied to me.

[-] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 4 points 12 hours ago

If someone is going to fly explosives somewhere they will simply buy a drone that isn't DJI. It's not hard to get around the geofencing if you really want to.

The only benefits to the geofencing was to prevent people from flying around in areas they didn't bother to research and find out was actually somewhere they shouldn't be flying.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 4 points 12 hours ago

Making it easier to blow things up seems bad.

[-] EldritchFeminity 5 points 9 hours ago

Apparently, US manufacturers don't use geofencing at all, so it was never difficult in the first place. This just means one more manufacturer who doesn't.

[-] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

This doesn't make it any easier to blow things up. Any drone made from any US manufacturer can be used if you want to blow things up.

What this DOES do is help morons who don't understand the consequences of their actions do stupid stuff. DJI is the most popular brand, so most morons who are doing stupid stuff with drones are probably using DJI. The people who understand drones better are less likely to use DJI. So the guy who thinks it's a good idea to fly near wild fires or fly over a major airport is now more likely to cause trouble.

this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
138 points (100.0% liked)

News

23837 readers
2888 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS