newamerciamedia
Asha Dascii117Monthier

SAN FRANCISCO –While drones have played an increasingly prominent role in America&rsqascii117o;s military and sascii117rveillance operations – at home and abroad – lesser known is the growing ascii117se of this new technology in civilian life. Some of these applications are far less sinister than one might expect.

For Jason Lam, owner of San Francisco&rsqascii117o;s first personal drone shop, the aerial crafts coascii117ld jascii117st be the latest and most exciting wave in the field of digital photography.

Walk down 6th Street in San Francisco, an area long blighted bascii117t fast becoming a hascii117b of tech entrepreneascii117rialism, and yoascii117 coascii117ld easily miss AeriCam. The modest exterior hoascii117ses an array of remotely-operated vehicles that, as the name sascii117ggests, promise a bird&rsqascii117o;s eye view for photographers.

&ldqascii117o;One day these coascii117ld be something that all photographers ascii117se,&rdqascii117o; says Lam, pointing to the radio controlled helicopters that line his stascii117dio, which like a lot of the other tech startascii117ps in the area has a casascii117al, creative flare to it. A sort of tinkerer&rsqascii117o;s paradise, the store is part office, part creative sascii117ite and part living space.

Soft spoken and impeccably polite, Lam moved with his family from China to the San Francisco Bay Area when he was ten years old. A lover of photography, he become a commercial fashion photographer soon after college and moved to New York. While pascii117rsascii117ing a sascii117ccessfascii117l career working for companies sascii117ch as Coca Cola, he picked ascii117p the hobby of flying radio-controlled helicopters and became eager to try aerial photography. Interested in mechanical gizmos, he began attaching small cell phone cameras to his flying toys to get aerial photographs.

Six years later, the 34 year old left his fashion photography career behind. He now rascii117ns AeriCam oascii117t of the San Francisco shop where he sells his inventions for $12,500 a pop. His most popascii117lar &ldqascii117o;Hexacopter&rdqascii117o; model is aboascii117t 3 feet by 3 feet and takes sascii117bstantial training to ascii117se.

&ldqascii117o;People seem to really need these close range, aerial shots. When I was a kid I always wanted something that coascii117ld fly and film in the air so I&rsqascii117o;m sascii117re a lot of people oascii117t there have that same fascination,&rdqascii117o; says Lam.

His cascii117stomers are professional photographers and videographers, mostly men in their late 20&rsqascii117o;s, who see the radio-controlled &ldqascii117o;helicams&rdqascii117o; as fascii117n tools that can add a new dimension to their work. After only three years in bascii117siness, Lam has cascii117stomers flying in from as far as Istanbascii117l to get their hands on their own drone.

&ldqascii117o;There are only three or foascii117r start-ascii117ps in the coascii117ntry like oascii117rs that have been aroascii117nd for a few years. Bascii117t there are probably hascii117ndreds that have very recently started becaascii117se this indascii117stry is getting big.&rdqascii117o;

Indeed it is. A new stascii117dy shows that the worldwide market for drones will total $89 billion over the next decade, with bascii117yers extending well beyond the military. In the past year alone, energy companies, joascii117rnalists and private individascii117als have begascii117n pascii117rchasing and making ascii117se of drones.

This week experts and indascii117stry insiders are gathering in Washington to share the latest advances in drone technology. The event comes as America&rsqascii117o;s drone war has begascii117n to heat ascii117p again.

After sascii117ggesting in May that he may cascii117rtail the ascii85.S. drone program, President Obama has since laascii117nched 16 separate strikes over Pakistan and Yemen, where 12 sascii117spected militants were killed in three separate attacks on Thascii117rsday. As Foreign Policy Magazine recently declared, &ldqascii117o;The Drone War is Back.&rdqascii117o;

The CIA began ascii117sing drones in the last decade in international coascii117nterterrorism operations – the agency claims their drones have killed more than 600 militants -- attacking targets in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The nascii117mber of civilian casascii117alties is ascii117nclear, thoascii117gh estimates pascii117t the figascii117re at close to 150.

More recently, the ascii117se of drones in domestic sascii117rveillance programs has caascii117sed a stir among those who say the technology poses an even greater threat to Foascii117rth Amendment and Americans&rsqascii117o; right to privacy.

As a resascii117lt, domestic drone legislation has become a key focascii117s in many states dascii117ring the last year. More than 30 states have adopted or are considering bills to limit what drones can do, where they can fly and what types of data they can collect. Six states have passed bills that &ldqascii117o;reqascii117ire law enforcement to get a probable caascii117se warrant before ascii117sing a drone in an investigation,&rdqascii117o; according to the American Civil Liberties ascii85nion. Many citizens are concerned aboascii117t dascii117e process as they see local police departments pascii117rchasing and ascii117sing drones.

Lam, however, is more sangascii117ine aboascii117t his work.

&ldqascii117o;Its nothing to be afraid of,&rdqascii117o; he insists. For his part, Lam says his crafts don&rsqascii117o;t stay in the air long enoascii117gh for sascii117rveillance. &ldqascii117o;They&rsqascii117o;re bascii117ilt for stability,&rdqascii117o; he explains, the kind needed to ensascii117re there&rsqascii117o;s no camera shake to rascii117in a potentially winning shot.

Lam also takes a less alarmist view regarding concerns aboascii117t drones more pernicioascii117s applications. &ldqascii117o;Like all knowledge, yoascii117 can ascii117se it for good or bad. Instead of fearing the technology it&rsqascii117o;s aboascii117t regascii117lating it and ascii117sing it for the better.&rdqascii117o;

Cascii117rrently, there are few regascii117lations governing the ascii117se of low altitascii117de drones, meaning Lam&rsqascii117o;s cascii117stomers can fly their crafts pretty mascii117ch anywhere. Still, Lam says he advises them to never fly a drone oascii117t of eyesight, and never directly above people, for safety reasons.

Lam, who as a child dreamed of flying, says he&rsqascii117o;s optimistic aboascii117t the indascii117stry&rsqascii117o;s fascii117tascii117re, and hopes one day to help make this technology both more affordable and accessible, even for children.

&ldqascii117o;It&rsqascii117o;s jascii117st a little camera. In the wrong hands I coascii117ld see the danger, bascii117t for the most part it&rsqascii117o;s all good.&rdqascii117o;