BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

What To Do If You Find A Lost Drone

This article is more than 9 years old.

As new technologies worm their way into our lives, it presents us with new etiquette conundrums. The question of 'netiquette' led the Emily Post Institute to release a book on manners in the digital world. But that book did not tackle a novel problem that one might face in today's brave new world: with small drones becoming increasingly popular (and possibly more welcome in the U.S. legally), more of them will be buzzing about. Malfunctions are inevitable, so it's very possible you might wander across a lost little robotic puppy that's gone astray. So what's the proper protocol when you find a lost drone?

Last week, a San Franciscan named Joseph encountered a crashed quadcopter near Golden Gate Park. It was "squirmin'" and "buzzin'" like a wounded animal, he says. Unafraid of rabies or computer viruses, Joseph took the drone home and knocked it out by cutting its power. He then posted a Craigslist ad, "I found your stupid drone," asking the "dr-owner" to contact him to get it back. Else, he would send it to the pound called "Ebay."

I contacted the Craigslist poster to ask if this rather antiquated method had worked. "The owner has yet to respond to my ad," he replied. Unlike a tagless puppy, a drone has a built-in camera, so I asked if he'd used that to try to communicate with the owner who likely has a feed on his computer or mobile device. Joseph seemed to be not especially tech savvy: "I don't have the proper USB cable to access the camera so I haven't looked into it yet."

It's not the first time I've heard about people having to deal with a wild drone. Gray Brooks had a drone crash land in his backyard in Washington, D.C. last year. He and his girlfriend were a bit freaked out by it but acted rationally. They held a piece of paper with their number on it in front of the drone's cam... and then covered the drone with a pot so that it 1) wouldn't fly away, or 2) keep spying on them.

The dr-owner turned out to be their neighbor. "The first thing he showed us when he knocked on the door was the photo on his smartphone," says Brooks.

(In an odd twist, that neighbor, John Franklin, went on to create a "DroneShield" listening device that beeps when it hears the tell-tale sounds of a drone in the vicinity, because the incident "helped him realize how beneficial a drone detection system could be," according to the Washington Times.)

I think this is the best etiquette for drone finders, but I queried Twitter for other suggestions. "I think if you find a drone, you set it free. If it comes back to you, it's meant to be," said legal drone expert Ryan Calo kiddingly, before more seriously suggesting calling the manufacturer of the drone with its serial number to report it "found" (much like finding a lost credit card). Lea Rosen suggested that the onus is on dr-owners instead, to put tags (with a name and contact info) on their futuristic friends.

Of course, drones raise other etiquette questions beyond this, such as whether it's an invasion of privacy to fly a drone over your neighbors' yard at all or for it to look into their windows, as has already happened in Seattle.

Hat tip: Ryan Mac, who spotted the "stupid drone" posting.