You don't have to guess about the military applications, it's all over the news. Even bog standard FPV drones that Ukraine is churning out at a rate of >100k/month have image recognition these days, so that if the video stream gets jammed they can finish off the mission autonomously.

Even on a hobby level, ardupilot+openCV+cheap drone kit from amazon is a DIY project within the skill set of a significant part of the visitors of this very site.

▲

average_r_user 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

I find it both surprising and, fortunately, reassuring that despite how easy it is to buy inexpensive components on platforms like Amazon, Temu, or AliExpress, we have yet to see a wave of terrorist attacks in the busiest public spaces.

▲

red-iron-pine 4 days ago | parent [-]

the average american cannot afford a surprise $500 expense. you think they can afford a drone swarm?

	▲	int_19h 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		If the average American becomes desperate enough to rig up a drone for a terror attack, I don't think they particularly care about the effect of that $500 on their credit report afterwards.

▲

OtherShrezzing 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> so that if the video stream gets jammed they can finish off the mission autonomously.

The streams mostly don't get jammed anymore, because the low-cost FPV drones are physically connected to the ground by a long optical cable. The extent of their autonomous dangers are limited by the amount of fibre-optic cable left in the spool when they take off.

	▲	victorbjorklund 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Optical fiber drones is still the minority of drones (both because more expensive and because it has other downsides than radio)