Apple Park drone footage may be ending, with security forces seeking to cease flights
The latest drone footage from Apple park shows the march of progress towards completion, but it is not clear how many more videos there will be of the campus. with Apple reportedly cracking down on drone pilots in the area.
The latest footage from Apple Park shows a glimpse inside the now unclad Steve Jobs Theater, work underway in the atrium, the historic barn re-assembled completely, and the manmade pond nearly ready for water. Additionally, a large amount of progress has been made on the visitor's center, showing a roof resembling the Chicago remodeled store.
AppleInsider has also learned that there is a security force intended to halt these flyovers. Another drone pilot claims that they were stopped by a hired security guard who has the express purpose of shutting down drone flights over the campus.
At present, Apple Park is not listed as a "no-fly" area by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, nor could AppleInsider locate any filing for the "Controlled Airspace" status at this time. Current FAA guidance requires drones to keep 360 feet away from structures, and mandates that the user must maintain visual line-of-sight to the device at all times.
Navigable airspace above 500 feet is limited to manned airplanes. FAA guidance allows drones to fly below an altitude 400 feet to ground level, but there are court rulings from the mid-20th century that suggest that a landowner owns up to 365 feet -- so a legal battle is imminent.
Apple could have an avenue for restrictions, if they can demonstrate that the drones are causing a nuisance, or are violating one of California's privacy laws. Drones landing or being flown from private property can result in a trespassing charge.
On Feb. 22, Apple officially named the "spaceship" campus under construction. The entire facility is now called "Apple Park," with the 20-foot tall and 165 foot in diameter glass auditorium honoring one of the founders of the company and named the "Steve Jobs Theater."
Before the massive construction effort started, the area was Hewlett Packard's land, and was essentially completely paved over. Apple's demand for trees is reportedly putting pressure on the local market, forcing contractors to source from outside California. The final tree count is expected to approach 9,000, with apple, apricot, cherry, and persimmon trees dotting the landscape.
An environmentally-friendly design was paramount to Jobs's vision, and Apple's related Phase 2 project adds additional workspace adjacent to the main headquarters, and includes a small data center powered by the on-site solar farm, fuel cells, and other sources of renewable energy.
A new micro-grid installed on the campus is reportedly capable of delivering 17 megawatts of power from solar alone, and handling about 75 percent of the facility's power requirements. The solar installation is supplemented by Bloom Energy-provided fuel cells, similar to those installed at the North Carolina data center.
The latest footage from Apple Park shows a glimpse inside the now unclad Steve Jobs Theater, work underway in the atrium, the historic barn re-assembled completely, and the manmade pond nearly ready for water. Additionally, a large amount of progress has been made on the visitor's center, showing a roof resembling the Chicago remodeled store.
AppleInsider has also learned that there is a security force intended to halt these flyovers. Another drone pilot claims that they were stopped by a hired security guard who has the express purpose of shutting down drone flights over the campus.
At present, Apple Park is not listed as a "no-fly" area by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, nor could AppleInsider locate any filing for the "Controlled Airspace" status at this time. Current FAA guidance requires drones to keep 360 feet away from structures, and mandates that the user must maintain visual line-of-sight to the device at all times.
Navigable airspace above 500 feet is limited to manned airplanes. FAA guidance allows drones to fly below an altitude 400 feet to ground level, but there are court rulings from the mid-20th century that suggest that a landowner owns up to 365 feet -- so a legal battle is imminent.
Apple could have an avenue for restrictions, if they can demonstrate that the drones are causing a nuisance, or are violating one of California's privacy laws. Drones landing or being flown from private property can result in a trespassing charge.
On Feb. 22, Apple officially named the "spaceship" campus under construction. The entire facility is now called "Apple Park," with the 20-foot tall and 165 foot in diameter glass auditorium honoring one of the founders of the company and named the "Steve Jobs Theater."
Before the massive construction effort started, the area was Hewlett Packard's land, and was essentially completely paved over. Apple's demand for trees is reportedly putting pressure on the local market, forcing contractors to source from outside California. The final tree count is expected to approach 9,000, with apple, apricot, cherry, and persimmon trees dotting the landscape.
An environmentally-friendly design was paramount to Jobs's vision, and Apple's related Phase 2 project adds additional workspace adjacent to the main headquarters, and includes a small data center powered by the on-site solar farm, fuel cells, and other sources of renewable energy.
A new micro-grid installed on the campus is reportedly capable of delivering 17 megawatts of power from solar alone, and handling about 75 percent of the facility's power requirements. The solar installation is supplemented by Bloom Energy-provided fuel cells, similar to those installed at the North Carolina data center.
Comments
I am guessing the Samsung drone factory is being shut down as we speak.
It was bound to happen, and I'm surprised there isn't anything filed at this point. There's just too much at risk from a falling iron to hit people, especially when there is a gathering, and solar panels.
I don't think this has anything to do with terrorism, and I'm not sure how flying a drone would be more effective for a terrorist then, say, setting an explosive charge on the hydrogen power cells that are placed right along the highway. it's not like the campus itself is difficult to access.
"Navigable airspace above 500 feet is limited to manned airplanes. FAA guidance allows drones to fly below an altitude 400 feet to ground level ..."
By law, this means fly-overs would only be allowed in a narrow 40 ft area and I see them a lot closer than 360-ft. I presume the 360-ft means on all side, including the top. All that has to happen is for Apple to give permission to one drone company to do fly-overs (and pay them for the footage) and then get legal restrictions on everyone else. I really don't think people are going to put up with an Amazon-like drone package delivery service for all the obvious reasons. If the courts say we own 365-ft of "air space" above our house (just like in Burlesque), it will be difficult for any delivery service to safely fly to houses without dropping straight down onto the house. I also wonder what will happen with homeowner's insurance policies when these are allowed.
I recently went back to watch some of the razing of HP's facility in 2014 and start of the main structure in 2015, which required digging down several stories for the underground parking garage (and offices?). That undertaking blew me away. I looked for the giant sheets of glass being put in place but couldn't find a specific video of that installation. Hopefully Apple will have something for us.
If the flights are originating from a surrounding property within 360 feet of structures aren't they illegal from the get-go?
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple may only let Dunkin and Matt do drone video footage, or even allow no one anymore to do this as the project is wrapping up slowly. Honestly, except for more trees being planted, what else is there to see on the exterior? Unless there's some kind of footage of the interior being built, things will really start to look like nothing is being done because there isn't a lot to do on the exterior.
Its invaluable PR and strokes egos to boot.
If it weren't California, maybe Apple employees could take up skeet-shooting at break time?
Yes. That's a problem that is going to have to be dealt with for drones, phones, watch-cameras, etc. Heck, it probably won't be long until the gov't just assigns a drone to each person, the way things are going.
My gosh, contrast this with the license requirements around stock photography. I can't even use a photo that has a person or landmark without a bunch of paperwork.
"Only" privacy and property-rights questions? That's a pretty enormous "only." It wasn't that long ago that property rights extended down to the center of the Earth and up into the stratosphere. Courts (apparently) have no limited that to 360 feet or so. But that still gives me the right as a property owner to prohibit you from entering my property or from having your property entering my property. Therefore, I (and Apple Inc.) already have a legal recourse to prevent you from flying a drone anywhere near my property--be it small, light, inconspicuous or otherwise. I'm not really worried about a drone 100+ yards above or away from my property.
I'm a tad surprised we have not yet seen a serious crime committed with this technology. I recall seeing a video of a UAV outfitted with a 9mm handgun. If we learn nothing else from history, it is that all weapons, once invented, are used. We are now in the era where everyone potentially owns a cruise missile.
Personal grinds-my-gears: a "drone" is a autonomous vehicle. Remotely piloted UAVs are not drones.
Frankly this is new legal territory but it is rather pressing as drone tech is advancing rapidly. We need the ability to protect ourselves from these sorts of intrusions, one aspect would be a legal framewotk to throw these voyuers into prison for a very long time.
There comes a point where such activities can turn from curiosity into two types of spying. One would be the spying that perverts love so much. The second form of spying is that that take place for profit in the corporate world. Apple is right to be concerned about both.
It seems the big trees around the perimeter of the Apple campus would make it difficult or impossible for drone pilots to maintain constant line-of-sight contact with their drones, without ever flying above 400 feet. Trigonometry.