Shopping for a robot army: A day at the don’t-call-it-a-drone show

They’re not drones any more, they’re “unmanned aircraft”. So don’t
call them drones. If you do, they’ll send one after you.
We’re going to be needing a shoot-down-a-drone show.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shopping for a robot army: A day at the don’t-call-it-a-drone show
The unmanned aircraft revolution is coming, America.
by Sean Gallagher – Aug 17 2013
This week, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
(AUVSI) took over Washington, DC’s convention center for its annual Unmanned
Systems show. Once mostly a government- and defense-focused event, the
conference has ramped up in size and scope in anticipation of the Federal
Aviation Administration’s decision on how to “integrate” unmanned
aircraft into civil airspace.
Among the thousands of companies hawking their wares at the event, there
were representatives from some 25 teams of state and local authorities, each
vying to make its region one of the coveted designated test locations that will
be announced by the FAA in December. Some, like Oklahoma, had their own booths
set up to draw support from unmanned system manufacturers.
And about the “d” word—the members of the AUVSI want us all to
drop the word “drone.” In the press room, the password for the Wi-Fi
network was “It’snotadrone.” The word drone has taken on too much
political baggage, thanks to news reports of the US’ drone war against terrorists.
And indeed, the unmanned aircraft and other vehicles at Unmanned Systems were
largely of the kinder, gentler variety, though the biggest booths still
belonged to companies selling to the US military and other customers who wear
camouflage.
~~~~~ CONTINUE AT: ~~~~~

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/08/shopping-for-a-robot-army-a-day-at-the-dont-call-it-a-drone-show/