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#stingrays — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #stingrays, aggregated by home.social.

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  1. Drones have been on my radar screen (pun intended) for quite a few years...

    Don’t Let Police Arm Autonomous or Remote-Controlled Robots and Drones

    By Matthew Guariglia
    July 16, 2021

    "It’s no longer science fiction or unreasonable paranoia. Now, it needs to be said: No, police must not be arming land-based robots or aerial drones. That’s true whether these mobile devices are remote controlled by a person or autonomously controlled by artificial intelligence, and whether the weapons are maximally lethal (like bullets) or less lethal (like tear gas). [Or #ElectricShockGloves !]

    "Police currently deploy many different kinds of moving and task-performing technologies. These include flying drones, remote control bomb-defusing robots, and autonomous patrol robots. While these different devices serve different functions and operate differently, none of them--absolutely none of them--should be armed with any kind of weapon.

    "Mission creep is very real. Time and time again, technologies given to police to use only in the most extreme circumstances make their way onto streets during protests or to respond to petty crime. For example, cell site simulators (often called ' #Stingrays ') were developed for use in foreign battlefields, brought home in the name of fighting 'terrorism,' then used by law enforcement to catch immigrants and a man who stole $57 worth of food. Likewise, police have targeted #BLM #protesters with #FaceSurveillance and #AmazonRing doorbell cameras.

    "Today, scientists are developing an #AI enhanced #AutonomousDrone, designed to find people during natural disasters by locating their screams. How long until police use this technology to find protesters shouting chants? What if these autonomous drones were armed? We need a clear red line now: no armed police drones, period.

    "There are already law enforcement robots and drones of all shapes, sizes, and levels of autonomy patrolling the United States as we speak. From autonomous #Knightscope robots prowling for 'suspicious behavior' and collecting images of license plates [ #FlockCameras ] and phone identifying information, to #BostonDynamic robotic dogs accompanying police on calls in New York or checking the temperature of unhoused people in Honolulu, to #PredatorSurveillanceDrones flying over BLM protests in #Minneapolis.

    "We are moving quickly towards arming such robots and letting autonomous artificial intelligence determine whether or not to pull the trigger."

    Read more:
    eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/dont

    #ICESucks #SurveillanceState #DefundICE #DefundDHS #ArmedPoliceDrones #PoliceDrones
    #ACAB #RoboCops #PredatorUAVs #PredatorDrones #UAVs #ICE #SurveillanceState #Fascism #WeaponizedDrones #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity
    #CompliantTechnologies #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol

  2. Drones have been on my radar screen (pun intended) for quite a few years...

    Don’t Let Police Arm Autonomous or Remote-Controlled Robots and Drones

    By Matthew Guariglia
    July 16, 2021

    "It’s no longer science fiction or unreasonable paranoia. Now, it needs to be said: No, police must not be arming land-based robots or aerial drones. That’s true whether these mobile devices are remote controlled by a person or autonomously controlled by artificial intelligence, and whether the weapons are maximally lethal (like bullets) or less lethal (like tear gas). [Or #ElectricShockGloves !]

    "Police currently deploy many different kinds of moving and task-performing technologies. These include flying drones, remote control bomb-defusing robots, and autonomous patrol robots. While these different devices serve different functions and operate differently, none of them--absolutely none of them--should be armed with any kind of weapon.

    "Mission creep is very real. Time and time again, technologies given to police to use only in the most extreme circumstances make their way onto streets during protests or to respond to petty crime. For example, cell site simulators (often called ' #Stingrays ') were developed for use in foreign battlefields, brought home in the name of fighting 'terrorism,' then used by law enforcement to catch immigrants and a man who stole $57 worth of food. Likewise, police have targeted #BLM #protesters with #FaceSurveillance and #AmazonRing doorbell cameras.

    "Today, scientists are developing an #AI enhanced #AutonomousDrone, designed to find people during natural disasters by locating their screams. How long until police use this technology to find protesters shouting chants? What if these autonomous drones were armed? We need a clear red line now: no armed police drones, period.

    "There are already law enforcement robots and drones of all shapes, sizes, and levels of autonomy patrolling the United States as we speak. From autonomous #Knightscope robots prowling for 'suspicious behavior' and collecting images of license plates [ #FlockCameras ] and phone identifying information, to #BostonDynamic robotic dogs accompanying police on calls in New York or checking the temperature of unhoused people in Honolulu, to #PredatorSurveillanceDrones flying over BLM protests in #Minneapolis.

    "We are moving quickly towards arming such robots and letting autonomous artificial intelligence determine whether or not to pull the trigger."

    Read more:
    eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/dont

    #ICESucks #SurveillanceState #DefundICE #DefundDHS #ArmedPoliceDrones #PoliceDrones
    #ACAB #RoboCops #PredatorUAVs #PredatorDrones #UAVs #ICE #SurveillanceState #Fascism #WeaponizedDrones #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity
    #CompliantTechnologies #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol

  3. "At this point, there is no widely recognized legal argument that supports this sort of intrusiveness. While ALPRs get a pass because anyone can see cars and license plates when they’re traveling public roads and the Third Party Doctrine says nearly anything “willingly” handed over to third parties doesn’t require a warrant to obtain, this is something else completely.

    There’s no law on the books or court precedent that says the government can, in effect, force devices carried by people in cars to turn this info over to the government just because the vehicle happened to pass a SignalTrace-powered camera.

    This is tech that has no analogue in the public sphere. In other words, the general public doesn’t have access to tech that can obtain this info from other people’s devices. That was the argument used to excuse cops who used an iPhone’s night photography option to “see” through the tinted windows of a parked car. There’s also no “just a cop with a notebook and a pen” equivalent for this tech, which is what has been argued to route ALPRs around the Fourth Amendment.

    Leonardo is setting up shop in the unsettled areas of the law. That’s not a great business model. Even if there’s initial interest from the government’s early adopters, securing sustained revenue streams would require the Constitution itself to be upended. I’m not saying it won’t happen. I’m just saying I wouldn’t bet my career on it."

    techdirt.com/2026/06/24/survei

    #USA #Surveillance #ALPRs #Stingrays #PoliceState #Privacy #Leonardo

  4. "At this point, there is no widely recognized legal argument that supports this sort of intrusiveness. While ALPRs get a pass because anyone can see cars and license plates when they’re traveling public roads and the Third Party Doctrine says nearly anything “willingly” handed over to third parties doesn’t require a warrant to obtain, this is something else completely.

    There’s no law on the books or court precedent that says the government can, in effect, force devices carried by people in cars to turn this info over to the government just because the vehicle happened to pass a SignalTrace-powered camera.

    This is tech that has no analogue in the public sphere. In other words, the general public doesn’t have access to tech that can obtain this info from other people’s devices. That was the argument used to excuse cops who used an iPhone’s night photography option to “see” through the tinted windows of a parked car. There’s also no “just a cop with a notebook and a pen” equivalent for this tech, which is what has been argued to route ALPRs around the Fourth Amendment.

    Leonardo is setting up shop in the unsettled areas of the law. That’s not a great business model. Even if there’s initial interest from the government’s early adopters, securing sustained revenue streams would require the Constitution itself to be upended. I’m not saying it won’t happen. I’m just saying I wouldn’t bet my career on it."

    techdirt.com/2026/06/24/survei

    #USA #Surveillance #ALPRs #Stingrays #PoliceState #Privacy #Leonardo

  5. @AquaClaire
    3/
    The Anatomy: If you look closely at the underside of a ray’s face, you will see clusters of tiny, dark pores.

    How It Works: Each pore opens into a long canal filled with a highly conductive, clear jelly. At the very bottom of the canal sits a pocket of specialized nerve cells.

    The Interface: When an animal’s bio-electric field passes over the ray's skin, the electrical current travels down the conductive jelly, triggering the nerve cells.

    #stingrays
    #electroreception

  6. @AquaClaire
    3/
    The Anatomy: If you look closely at the underside of a ray’s face, you will see clusters of tiny, dark pores.

    How It Works: Each pore opens into a long canal filled with a highly conductive, clear jelly. At the very bottom of the canal sits a pocket of specialized nerve cells.

    The Interface: When an animal’s bio-electric field passes over the ray's skin, the electrical current travels down the conductive jelly, triggering the nerve cells.

    #stingrays
    #electroreception

  7. @AquaClaire
    2/
    Every time a living being contracts a muscle, beats their heart, or fires a neuron in their brain, it creates a tiny pulse of electricity. Water—especially saltwater—is an exceptional conductor, meaning these pulses radiate outward into the ocean.

    To read these signals, rays have a highly specialized network of sensory organs called the Ampullae of Lorenzini.

    #AmpullaeOfLorenzini
    #stingrays
    #MarineLife

  8. @AquaClaire
    2/
    Every time a living being contracts a muscle, beats their heart, or fires a neuron in their brain, it creates a tiny pulse of electricity. Water—especially saltwater—is an exceptional conductor, meaning these pulses radiate outward into the ocean.

    To read these signals, rays have a highly specialized network of sensory organs called the Ampullae of Lorenzini.

    #AmpullaeOfLorenzini
    #stingrays
    #MarineLife

  9. @AquaClaire

    It is a Potamotrygon motoro (commonly known as the Ocellated Freshwater Stingray or Peacock Stingray), native to the Amazon river basin. Unlike the ocean-dwelling rays (like the massive smooth rays or fiddleback rays), these freshwater varieties evolved to live in muddy riverbeds, using those brilliant, fiery orange rings as a warning to predators rather than camouflage.

    #stingrays

  10. @AquaClaire

    It is a Potamotrygon motoro (commonly known as the Ocellated Freshwater Stingray or Peacock Stingray), native to the Amazon river basin. Unlike the ocean-dwelling rays (like the massive smooth rays or fiddleback rays), these freshwater varieties evolved to live in muddy riverbeds, using those brilliant, fiery orange rings as a warning to predators rather than camouflage.

    #stingrays

  11. What Stingrays Really Eat Might Surprise You

    An estuary stingray (Hemitrygon fluviorum) shifting sand as it sifts through it for morsels of food. Shutterstock The…
    #NewsBeep #News #Wildlife #Australia #CA #Canada #climatechange #Estuary #nature #ocean #rays #Science #Seagrass #Stingrays
    newsbeep.com/ca/654511/

  12. What Stingrays Really Eat Might Surprise You

    An estuary stingray (Hemitrygon fluviorum) shifting sand as it sifts through it for morsels of food. Shutterstock The…
    #NewsBeep #News #Wildlife #AU #Australia #Climatechange #estuary #nature #Ocean #rays #Science #seagrass #Stingrays
    newsbeep.com/au/655716/

  13. From Ask A Manager:

    "We recently talked about people applying for — in working in — jobs that were clearly at odds with what they wanted to do, and here are [some] of my favorite stories you shared.

    8. The honey bees

    I research honey bees. Every year my group hires one or two field assistants, usually undergraduate students who don’t typically have a lot of research experience. The number of people who make it clear in the interviews that they do not want to work around honey bees is always surprising, given that we are very clear on the job ad that responsibilities largely involve working with honey bees. Special props to the guy who very earnestly tried to convince us to hire him to do his own research on stingrays (???) — my best guess is that he somehow thought it was a grant and not a job."

    #HoneyBees
    #Stingrays

  14. How to Detect Phone Spying Tech (with Cooper Quintin)

    Joseph speaks to #CooperQuintin , a #security researcher & senior public interest technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Quintin is one of the people behind #Rayhunter , an easy to install tool that can detect nearby #IMSIcatchers. This tech, sometimes known as #Stingrays , poses as a fake #cellphone tower to track a phone’s location, intercept calls & texts, & can sometimes even deliver #malware

    404media.co/how-to-detect-phon

  15. How to Detect Phone Spying Tech (with Cooper Quintin)

    Joseph speaks to #CooperQuintin , a #security researcher & senior public interest technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Quintin is one of the people behind #Rayhunter , an easy to install tool that can detect nearby #IMSIcatchers. This tech, sometimes known as #Stingrays , poses as a fake #cellphone tower to track a phone’s location, intercept calls & texts, & can sometimes even deliver #malware

    404media.co/how-to-detect-phon

  16. this #FinalStraw podcast episode interviews #CooperQuintin who has developed #rayhunter . a $20 device to detect #CellSiteSimulators aka #stingrays which are tech tools pigs use to track activists to the exact location they're at.

    essential info for anyone on the radar of authorities for whatever reason.

    more info eff.org

    pca.st/episode/66e18d87-e5bb-4

  17. 🐟🤖 Engineers have finally cracked the code of the #stingray’s "undulating" swim style. By building a wavy robotic fin, they discovered that rays don't just flap – they’ve evolved a specific tilt to counter the suction of the seafloor, turning a potential drag into a highly efficient glide.

    👉 popsci.com/science/stringray-r

    #robotics #marinebiology #engineering #science #biomimicry #stingrays #nature #stem #technology #tech #wildlife

  18. 🐟🤖 Engineers have finally cracked the code of the #stingray’s "undulating" swim style. By building a wavy robotic fin, they discovered that rays don't just flap – they’ve evolved a specific tilt to counter the suction of the seafloor, turning a potential drag into a highly efficient glide.

    👉 popsci.com/science/stringray-r

    #robotics #marinebiology #engineering #science #biomimicry #stingrays #nature #stem #technology #tech #wildlife

  19. 🦀🤖 Researchers in #Australia used an animatronic "spy crab" to watch thousands of spider #crabs gather to molt their shells. To protect their soft new bodies from #stingrays, the crabs stack themselves into massive towers, a social #behavior captured in detail by the robotic camera.

    👉 discoverwildlife.com/tv/spider

    #nature #wildlife #robotics #marinebiology #ocean #science #technology #tech #bbc

  20. 🦀🤖 Researchers in #Australia used an animatronic "spy crab" to watch thousands of spider #crabs gather to molt their shells. To protect their soft new bodies from #stingrays, the crabs stack themselves into massive towers, a social #behavior captured in detail by the robotic camera.

    👉 discoverwildlife.com/tv/spider

    #nature #wildlife #robotics #marinebiology #ocean #science #technology #tech #bbc