Drones Caught in the Net

• Published in: Imaginations Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studies/revue d études interculturelle de l image
• Main Authors: Fish, Adam Richard, Garrett, Bradley L., Case, Oliver
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/88167/; https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE.LD.8.2.8

This short experimental essay reflects upon our video Points of Presence. In producing the video we used unmanned aerial drones to visually and vertically examine undersea fibre-optic cables of the North Atlantic. We reflect upon how the drone’s flying technologies allow pilots to creatively engage with the atmospheric element. We argue that the drone’s optical and object-avoidance technologies share similarities with the mammalian senses. In concluding, we examine how drones and information infrastructures reflect each other as complex and imperfect systems designed to extend the human body and senses across geographies.