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I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck

(warontherocks.com)
183 points _tk_ | 3 comments | 26 Jun 25 10:11 UTC | HN request time: 0.768s | source
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msgodel ◴[26 Jun 25 11:15 UTC] No.44386225[source]▶
Soon they'll be using CV and won't need FPV.
replies(2): >>44386355 #>>44386533 #
palata ◴[26 Jun 25 11:32 UTC] No.44386355[source]▶
You still want someone to get the drone to a place where it can see the target, and someone to select this target.

Only then can CV do the last part ("terminal engagement"). But that also means it won't go inside a hangar and find the target there.

replies(1): >>44388101 #
bluGill ◴[26 Jun 25 14:58 UTC] No.44388101[source]▶
IF you tell it go into the hanger and find a target CV can do that. It might not be the best target in the hanger, but that doesn't matter too much if you can get in.
replies(1): >>44388352 #
palata ◴[26 Jun 25 15:27 UTC] No.44388352[source]▶
If you add enough "if's", then surely everything is possible :-).

I don't think we're anywhere near having drones that happily fly above a war zone, detect an interesting hangar, find a way to get inside and select a target inside.

Currently they mostly fly FPV drones manually. The next basic step is to have "terminal engagement", where at some point they can select a target and the drone will fly autonomously to it using CV. But in order to do that, the drone will need processing power, and therefore it won't cost 500$ anymore.

Would you rather go for a drone that costs 5k and can use CV for terminal engagement, or 10 drones that cost 500 and simply stay on their latest vector if no command arrives?

replies(4): >>44388437 #>>44389029 #>>44391717 #>>44395144 #
1. msgodel ◴[26 Jun 25 15:37 UTC] No.44388437[source]▶
How much are the controllers they're using now? It's not like computers and cameras needed to do interesting CV are all that expensive.
replies(1): >>44388720 #
2. pzo ◴[26 Jun 25 16:06 UTC] No.44388720[source]▶
some mid-range iphones or android would even do the trick. especially iphones have tone of processing power nad strong NPU/GPU and lots of cameras, lidar, depth sensor, and plenty of other sensors. second hand phone 13 mini would do the trick and you can get it for less than $500
replies(1): >>44391722 #
3. palata ◴[26 Jun 25 21:37 UTC] No.44391722[source]▶
It's not as if you could glue an iPhone 13 mini at the front of the drone and call it a day, right?