
Uber’s Ad-Toting Drones Are Heckling Drivers Stuck in Traffic - CarolineW
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602662/ubers-ad-toting-drones-are-heckling-drivers-stuck-in-traffic/
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yoo1I
This is likely photoshopped. This is what I got when I ran it through[0]

[https://i2.uploadit.ga/img/1476562202.jpg](https://i2.uploadit.ga/img/1476562202.jpg)

That looks suspiciously like someone edited at least the text into the
picture.

[0] [https://github.com/sentenza/GIMP-ELA](https://github.com/sentenza/GIMP-
ELA)

EDIT: Different picture, same story:
[https://i3.uploadit.ga/img/1476564394.jpg](https://i3.uploadit.ga/img/1476564394.jpg)

Definitely shopped in. At least the text.

~~~
chrismcb
I'm not an expert. Can you explain why those links indicate it is photo
shopped? Is it the bright lines... So the cars are shopped as well?

~~~
RickS
Image data takes on noise/damage when it's compressed, during things like
saving and uploading to the web. When you turn that noise way up, it should be
even overall. When it's wildly mismatched, it indicates pieces have been
chopped in, like when a crappy voiceover has a word that's obviously wrong.

Note the sharp difference surrounding the in-focus drone's text, compared to
the background drones, whose signs have a much higher level of consistency
across the pages they're carrying.

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jrochkind1
I'm not sure this is for real. Can anyone find any other journalistic or other
confirmation?

The OP here links to a Bloomberg article, in which the only mention of drone
advertising is the caption on the same photo.

Which yoo1I tells us analyses as photoshopped:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12715479](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12715479)

I think someone photoshopped it, then Bloomberg News googled for a photo to
use for the story and found it, and just put it in without checking it.

Now other people are going to start 're-blogging' it as news, with Bloomberg
as the source, as in OP.

I'd think this would actually be pretty big news if it was going on, but
doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere else.

Shoddy job, Bloomberg News. If this what happened, and I think it probably is,
Bloomberg has failed at journalism.

~~~
ralfd
Technology Review (OP link) uses a different picture than Bloomberg.
Bloomberg:

[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iRzJLFQi2dc...](https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iRzJLFQi2dcQ/v0/1200x-1.jpg)

Bloomberg also dates the picture (17th June in Mexico City) and sources the
photographer (Brett Gundlock/Bloomberg).

The explanation that this was a one-time publicity stunt for a nice
photo/short video is way simpler and rational, than either the premature claim
of a fake ("I see it because of the pixels!") ore the idea of battery
constrained drones being used 24/7 as advertising billboards.

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kevinbowman
I can't help but feel that this is more for "column-inches" advertising than
the direct "eyeballs-on-billboards" advertising. I've not played with drones
for a year or two, but consider that drones have a fairly short battery life,
don't fly well in breezes, and need fairly close human attention, and this is
a huge amount of effort to go to if it's not for the write-ups.

Of course, column-inches are still a good way to do advertising, and this is a
clever way to get that.

~~~
rasz_pl
This is exactly it. Judging by perfectly framed picture with nice bokeh/dof
this whole thing was arranged for that one PR shot.

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ryan_j_naughton
But without any sensible regulation or assignment of property rights to fly
commercial drones, advertising drones could be buzzing around everywhere!

To limit the ability of stores to put signs wherever they want, the are both
signage/billboard regulations. If a store can't secure a billboard at a
desirable intersection, they sometimes pay to put a person with a sign there.
That loophole is only acceptable because there is a cost of the employee that
creates a natural cap on the use of unregulated signage.

With the advent of drones, the cost of will fall dramatically and the expected
result is an exponential proliferation of such drone signs. Yes, current
battery technology is woefully incapable of this currently and autonomous
technology isn't there yet, but as soon as the drones can be 100% autonomous
and can recharge themselves on charges on the roof of a nearby building, then
it simply becomes a capital cost of the drones. I think at that point is won't
be simply for publicity stunts anymore. Let's hope this isn't the future we
find ourselves in.

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ilamont
Local and state governments and their elected representatives in the United
States are soon going to get an earful from constituents about stunts like
this.

Another thought: The FAA will soon be involved regulating drone advertising. I
guess they already have some oversight over skywriters and blimps and
airplanes dragging banners, but this takes things to a new level.

~~~
bpicolo
This was in Mexico. Commercial drones do already have a number of regulations
here in the US, to be fair.

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bitL
How inspireational! :-D

Can't wait for brain-computer interface to get them fed right into my
thoughts...

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uw_rob
I always wondered why they didn't use drones to warn drivers about upcoming
construction. If people had miles to merge into one lane instead of hitting a
wall, I suspect people may not have to come to a stop to merge, and thus
everyone can keep on moving.

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FireBeyond
You underestimate the selfishness of people. Knowledge of upcoming situations
is not the issue. Rather it's the "it's more important for me to get where I'm
going than it is you" that keeps people from merging until the very last
second.

Source: US roads. All day, every day.

~~~
Pfhreak
Merging late, and using both lanes to their fullest actually improves overall
congestion (per Washington state, Minnesota, and others.) Merging early can
lead to differential speeds between lanes, which encourages lane changing,
which causes a general slowdown for everyone.

Use those lanes and zipper at the end!

~~~
c22
One big problem I witness often is people exiting the open lane just to zoom
to the front and re-merge back into it. Now they've changed lanes twice!

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carapace
How is this not an Onion article?

