Tokyo Fights Rogue Robots With Literal Sky Nets; This Is How It Starts

Drones—commercially available quadcopters and the like—are great and versatile pieces of technology, but that versatility lends itself to less than desirable uses. This has led some cities and nations to enact laws to govern their use, but those laws are only any god if there’s a way to enforce them. That’s where Skynet comes in—er, sorry. Drones carrying nets. In the sky.

So where will judgment day begin? Tokyo, apparently, as that’s where police have decided to outfit their own drones with nets to combat those of evildoers. Tokyo has several restrictions on the way the public can use their unmanned aerial vehicles, as Pinsent Masons partner Paul Haswell told BBC News,

In Japan, it is illegal to pilot drones over certain areas such as airports and power plants, over roads, or above a height of 150m. Some cities such as Tokyo and Osaka have also outlawed their use in parks.

Here, witness the end of human civilization/the way Tokyo’s police will keep drones from being a nuisance for yourself:

Clever disguise, but we’re onto you, Skynet.

But Tokyo’s police aren’t tempting judgment day lightly. A member of the police force’s Security Bureau said, “Terrorist attacks using drones carrying explosives are a possibility. We hope to defend the nation’s functions with the worst-case scenario in mind.” It sounds like a solid plan; let’s just hope the “good guy” robots continue to outnumber the bad ones.

(via BBC News)

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Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

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