Diversifying Drone Stories, 2021-2023

Jackman, Anna (2023). Diversifying Drone Stories, 2021-2023. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-856753

(1) RESEARCH CONTEXT: Following its establishment as a now-iconic warfighting tool, the drone increasingly features in domestic airspace. The domestic drone's meteoric rise is evident in the UK Government's ongoing investment. Alongside several parliamentary inquires, the Government continues to drive an increasingly buoyant drone economy (eg. Aerospace Sector Deal; Drone Pathfinder). Spurred further by regulatory changes underway, we are witnessing the drone-commercialisation of airspace. From infrastructure monitoring to goods delivery and home-security, the UK airspace regulator has granted over 6,000 permissions for commercial drone work. Further, drones are increasingly embraced in everyday policing, with 5,500 police drone deployments in the first six months of 2020 alone. Lastly, drones are readily accessible and popular consumer platforms, with an estimated 130,000 citizen flyers in the UK. While often flown for recreation, there are growing reports of accidental and deliberate drone misuse. From disrupting airports and crashing into people, to drone-capturing sensitive imagery and drone-dropping harmful materials, the Government recognises that domestic drones remain bound to both promise and risk. As drones increase in our skies, it is pressing to understand both how they are deployed in the provision of security (policing, home), and their potential to inflict harm. To this end, while repeatedly asserted that we live in a domestic drone age, there remains a lack of research into the impact of domestic drones on the UK lives increasingly subject to their gaze. This project responds with an original methodology foregrounding those who deploy, design, and live under drones, enabling unique insights about lived experience and expertise in the age of the domestic drone. (2) RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of Diversifying Drone Stories is to critically examine the domestic drone's growing mobilisation in, and securitisation of, day-to-day life in the UK. The objectives are to: (1) advance interdisciplinary drone scholarship through an engagement with the field of feminist geopolitics; (2) foster knowledge exchange and debate in/across drone stakeholder communities; (3) to connect social science researchers and policy-makers with the goal of influencing policy; (4) to enable career development. (3) POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF THE RESEARCH: ACADEMICS: The project pursues four-fold contribution to the academic community: (1) it contributes a new conceptual interfacing of interdisciplinary drone scholarship with the field of feminist geopolitics, enabling greater attention to the diversity of drone users, expertise and experiences; (2) it forges a novel methodology enabling a uniquely-sited and empirically-driven investigation of domestic drones in the UK; (3) it develops a distinct and accessible Mass Observation Archive directive examining drone stories, namely UK publics' understandings and experiences of drones; (4) it fosters new routes for social scientists to engage policy-makers and influence policy. It features the authoring of research articles, delivery of presentations to academic audiences, and the development of a book proposal based on grant research. PROJECT PARTNERS, PARTICIPANTS AND DRONE COMMUNITIES: The project engages and collaborates with a range of drone and aerospace communities. Through Knowledge Exchange focus groups, designed in collaboration with drone community partners, it fosters stakeholder dialogue and networking. The project will co-produce digital briefings and reports with partners, to be circulated through partner channels, enabling the fostering of wider debate. GENERAL PUBLICS: The project seeks to raise public awareness and understanding around drones, airspace security, and airborne harm. The public will have access to a distinct Mass Observation Archive 'drone stories' directive for future record/use; and an active project website, blogs, and Twitter account.

Data description (abstract)

From its establishment as a now-iconic tool in global military arsenals, the drone increasingly features in domestic airspace. Yet, while it is frequently asserted that the domestic ‘drone age’ is with us, there remains a notable paucity of empirically-driven research exploring the impacts of the domestic drone on the lives increasingly subject to its gaze. Diversifying Drone Stories develops a novel mixed-methodology foregrounding those who deploy, design and live under drones. The project explores the use, perception, and impact of drones in changing UK airspace. The project engaged with diverse stakeholders (including emergency services, lawyers, industry, pilots and air traffic controllers, local authorities, and members of the public) through qualitative methods including focus groups, interviews, and directive setting (via the Mass Observation Archive), to understand different uses, experiences and perspectives on how drones may be (re)shaping UK airspace and everyday life. The aim of Diversifying Drone Stories is to map and critically examine the domestic drone’s growing mediation, governance and securitisation of day-to-day life in the UK. The project pursues four objectives and four research questions: Research objectives: (1) To advance drone scholarship and methodology through an engagement with feminist geopolitics; (2) To foster knowledge exchange and debate in/ across drone stakeholder communities on issues of drone security and harm; (3) To connect social scientists and policy-makers in order to influence policy; (4) To enable career development. Research questions: (1) How are domestic drones employed in the securitisation of day-to day life? (2) How do domestic drones enable and manifest policing and governance from above? (3) How are airborne harms perceived, practiced, and experienced in the domestic drone age? (4) How do domestic drone practices and abuses impact understandings of airspace legalities?

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