1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hi brain 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in August, 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: readers of USA Today's website were able to watch dramatic 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: aerial video footage of the city of Houston flooding, a 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: nearby chemical plant immersed underwater, and other startling views of 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: the disaster. But these eye catching clips weren't shot by 7 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: a cameraman perched in a helicopter as they might have 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: been in the past. Instead, they were captured by robotic 9 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 1: drones equipped with cameras and piloted by operators on the ground. 10 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: Ever since the Federal Aviation Administration issued new regulations in 11 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: sixteen making it easier for news organizations to use the 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: flying robots, drones have become a hot new news gathering tool. 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: Prior to the change, a drone had to be piloted 14 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: by someone trained and licensed for manned aircraft, requiring hours 15 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,639 Speaker 1: of cockpit experience. The new rules only require an operator 16 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: to study and pass a test to be certified for drones. 17 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: Some journalism eating programs are making big investments in a 18 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: drone future. Matt Waite is a journalism professor at the 19 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: University of Nebraska Lincoln, who heads the school's Drone journalism lab. 20 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: He's trained three hundred and ninety journalists across the nation 21 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: in the past year on how to use drones, and 22 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: he says that probably about half of them have gone 23 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 1: on to obtain fa A certification. He estimates that somewhere 24 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: between dozens to low hundreds of US news outlets, and 25 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: not just TV stations, but newspapers and radio stations too, 26 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: now use unmanned aircraft in news gathering. Drone news is 27 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: rising at a time when the once seemingly ubiquitous news 28 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: helicopter is in decline. While definitive numbers aren't available, TV 29 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: News Check and Industry Publication estimated that there were only 30 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: one hundred to one hundred and twenty news schoppers still 31 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: flying around the country, down from a hundred and eighty 32 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: before the late two thousand's economic downturn for news outlets. 33 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: Drones are far less expensive news gathering tool than helicopters, 34 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: which can cost three to four million dollars apiece, including 35 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: the cost of cameras and mint, and consume a significant 36 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: amount of fuel. O Wait said, you can buy a 37 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: really good drone kit for about eighteen hundred dollars. That's 38 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: about what it would cost you to fly a helicopter 39 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: for an hour. He pointed out that drones are a 40 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: more affordable way to supply the ever increasing demand for 41 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: video clips that can be posted on websites, and that 42 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: the technology is well suited for covering certain types of 43 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: news events tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, massive traffic backups, stories like that, 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: he says. We also spoke via email with Henry H. Parrott, Jr. 45 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: A professor at the Chicago Kent College of Law and 46 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: co author of the book Domesticating Drones, The Technology, Economics 47 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: and Law of Unmanned Aircraft. He said that drones can 48 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: add aerial coverage for stations and publications that couldn't afford 49 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: a helicopter, even for stations who can. He said, the 50 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: main advantage is that every news crew can go out 51 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: with one and decide when it's coverage might be useful, 52 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: and since drones are unmanned, journalists don't face the same 53 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: risks that they would in news choppers. But drones also 54 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: have mitations that give helicopters an advantage for other types 55 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: of stories. Wait explained, for example, that the f a 56 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: A prohibits operators from flying drones directly over people, which 57 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: would make it difficult to get close to a massive 58 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: protest rally or a celebratory parade for a sports championship win. 59 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: Most drones electric battery packs only allow them to stay 60 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: aloft for twenty minutes, while helicopters can stay in the 61 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: air for hours at a time, and f a A 62 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: regulations require that the drone helicopters on the ground maintain 63 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: visual contact with the unmanned aircraft. Drones wait points out 64 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: would have been ill equipped to cover what is perhaps 65 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: the most famous aerial footage story ever, two hour police 66 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: pursuit of football star turned murder suspect O. J. Simpson 67 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: and his white Ford Bronco on the l A area 68 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: of Freeway System newscopters were able to transmit live video 69 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: of the chase, and it aired non stop on TV 70 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: viewers screens. That's why there will probably be room for 71 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: both copters and drones in journalism for the foreseeable future. 72 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: Some news organizations, such as Jacksonville, floor A based TV 73 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: station w j x T, rely on both. We spoke 74 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: with the stations vice president and general manager, Bob Ellis 75 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: In an email, he said, we use our sky for 76 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: helicopter here in Jacksonville to cover breaking news and to 77 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: get to a scene quickly, but drones oftentimes provide far 78 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: better pictures and can help tell a much better story. 79 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: In our coverage after Hurricane Irma, we used drone footage 80 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: to show damaged areas that showed exactly what happened, far 81 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,280 Speaker 1: better than using a helicopter could. I believe there's a 82 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: place for all these technologies to be utilized. I prefer 83 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: to look at it from a content standpoint, what is 84 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: the technology that helps best tell the story? Parrot adds 85 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: drones won't ever completely replace news helicopters because they're so 86 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: much cheaper. They will be used in some markets instead 87 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: of helicopters, and stations in big markets may renegotiate their 88 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: helicopter contracts over time to use less helicopter time, filling 89 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: the gap with drones. In the future, news organizations may 90 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: use drones not just to capture dramatic aerial images, but 91 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: to gather vast amounts of data from various angles to 92 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: create virtual reality simulations. Eventually, for example, news consumers may 93 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: be able to put on a VR headset and walk 94 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: through a three dimensional simulation of the ruins of a 95 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: war torn city on the other side of the planet. 96 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Patrick J. Keiger and produced 97 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: by Tristan McNeil. For more on this and lots of 98 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: other newsworthy topics, visit our home planet has Stuff works 99 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: dot com.