Quote from: TheBadger on January 01, 2014, 07:07:41 PMWithout satellites none of this stuff works for crap.
Autonomous inertially guided systems won't need satellites. That's what they are all about. Satellites are sitting ducks that lie there in orbit with predictable paths. They will be the first to be taken out in a first strike. Autonomous drones only need to be launched and retrieved and their whereabouts are not predictable.
BTW, the cheap RC flying models that cost less than $100 are pretty much all made by the Chinese. I hate to think of "Chinese" and "Swarm Munitions" in the same sentence. It brings back bad memories of the Korean War. Watch a documentary about the "Frozen Chosin" and you'll know what I mean.
I have actually been thinking about getting a drone myself for aerial videography. There are many draw-backs, however, in that you have to travel to a place where there is something worth photographing. You also risk losing a huge investment in a crash. There are also issues of grappling with the legal system and flying over private property. What individuals are doing with these things is absolutely amazing. They are much more robust than they used to be. I saw a video on YouTube about a guy who crashed his quad copter through a window at high speed and the craft was undamaged. Although these things are mostly RC now, their designers are adding autonomy to them as we speak. Some models can return to their launch points after they lose their com links and you can pre-program them to visit way stations. Most use GPS for their navigation.
On the other hand, Terregan can go anywhere at any time you want. You just have to do the research, do the work and have a great imagination. I have to say, so far, Terragen has won out over an RC quad copter. I actually made this trade-off decision within the past couple of years.