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SACXXX10.1177/1206331220941346Space and CultureWeller

Review Essay
Space and Culture

Towards the Commercial

1­–9
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Hobbyist’s Shed

Kevin Weller1

Abstract
This review-essay of Adam Rothstein’s Drone (2015) analyzes drone technology, more explicitly,
the emerging opportunities for commercial and private usage of drones, in two parts: While the
first part is dedicated to a careful reading of Rothstein’s book and an exploration of his method
of tracing emerging technologies as narratives in terms of their constitutional technologies—the
stories of four technologies that preceded the drone and proved integral to its emergence—the
second part of this review seeks to extend his method toward recent examples of commercial
and private drone-usage, exploring how the adaption of drone technology in different realms of
application (such as commodity delivery, entertainment through drone-races, or even political
protest and terrorism) shapes the societal conception of drones and their perceived usage.
Since drones represent a derivative of military technology, a short section on the ethics of
drones that engages with some of the points raised by Rothstein will show how, despite the
drone’s unglamorous past as a hunter from above, the adaption of drone technology in new
contexts might over time change this one-sided conception of drones as mere tools of warfare
and surveillance toward a balanced understanding of the risks and chances associated with this
young technology.

Keywords
drone, technology narratives, ethics of technology, drone races

Introduction: The Drone: A 21st-century Phenomenon?

As a part of the “Object Lessons” book-series, Drone by Adam Rothstein takes an interdisciplinary
approach toward the drone as a bundle of emerging technologies—as a time-traveler from the past
(Rothstein, 2015, p. X), assembling technological narratives from the first cars to the latest robots—
by combining historical, socio-technological, and ethical perspectives to provide a multi-layered
account of this technology’s genealogy as a whole and in its parts. While the author’s analysis
focusses primarily on unpacking the development of technological, social, and ethical discourses
around the drone, the book goes beyond providing a mere contemporary freeze frame of this
particular technology’s current state and instead presents its historical emergence and its subsequent

1
Technological University Munich, Munich, Germany

Corresponding Author:
Kevin Weller, Technological University Munich, Arcisstr. 21, 80333, Munich, Germany.
Email: kevin.weller@tum.de
2 Space and Culture 00(0)

integration in a variety of fields as a prime example for technological discourses in more general
terms, thereby expanding the relevance of this work from a specific case study toward a more general
discussion of the multi-layered implications of technological advances. The review aims to both
outline Rothstein’s approach towards technologies in discourses—to re-trace the drone in (social,
technological and ethical) discourses and developments—and extend his method towards more
recent and possibly future developments and iterations of drone technology.

Technologies in Discourse: Spaces of Innovation

The book opens with four stories of four apparently distinct technologies—the automobile, the
aircraft, the computer, and the robot (Rothstein, 2015, p. 1–17)—which describe their specific
roots and the prerequisites necessary for their emergence. In referring to the concept of “parts and
wholes” (Rothstein, 2015, p. 66–70), Rothstein introduces these four technology stories as inter-
dependent and building upon the success of one another. For example, the third of these technolo-
gies, the computer—now included in almost every machine from refrigerators (Rothstein, 2015,
p. 13) to cars—serves as prime example of this integrative aspect, as it, on one hand, appears as
a whole, functional unit (the personal computer), but on the other hand, as part of other technolo-
gies (i.e., the smartphone) whose success has been very much dependent upon the existence and
advancement of this foundational technology.
In referring back to the drone, Rothstein shows how rather recent advances in motor- and bat-
tery technology have allowed for the possibility of a rapid spread of drone technology throughout
the hobby- and consumer market. While the drone, especially in contrast to early planes, is being
described as a “projectized weapon” (Rothstein, 2015, p. 25) throughout the book—as a weapon-
system that has been conceptualized and built from scratch not by backyard hobbyists, but instead
by operationally closed organizations representing the military-industrial apparatus to create a
new type of weapon with their particular interests and requirements in mind (Rothstein, 2015 p.
26–33)—emergent drone technology not only represents a whole (such as for example the MQ-1
Predator Drone; p. 32) but provides parts of tech that find their applications not only within the
military-industrial complex’ area of interest but also within the hobbyist- and consumer-market,
where it is being adapted by tinkerers around the world towards a variety of purposes.
Aside from a detailed, technological account of the drone’s most relevant hardware and soft-
ware aspects, Rothstein continues to describe the drone as a space of human beings themselves
(2015, p. XIV), where diverging narratives negotiate the meaning that the drone is being given
by society: hopes and dreams on the one hand, fears and nightmares on the other. (For a dystopic
image of what a world of fully automated terrorism and warfare might look like, see “Slaughterbots”
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA) He emphasizes how the conception of a
given product, for example the drone in memes or art, influences its present and future applica-
tions, thereby connecting together social and technological aspects.
While Rothstein does make use of the term “narrative” to describe particular groups of interest
and conceptions of a given entity in numerous examples around the drone, he refrains from using
concepts such as that of discourse, which could prove fruitful in further advancing the understand-
ing of dynamically competing narratives in this particular example, both in practical and theoreti-
cal terms, as the relationship between such narratives appears to be inadequately described by the
term “collection” (Rothstein, 2015, p. XIV) that negates competitive relationships between those.

Drone-Ethics: A Cautionary Tale of Interweaving Technological

Narratives
“Drone” by Rothstein goes beyond providing a historical account of drone- technology, conception
and usage and—throughout the book, but most explicitly in chapter twelve, “The drone as
Weller 3

meme”—asks the normative question on how one ought to engage with and possibly advance drone
technology in an ethically responsible manner. In chapter three, “The commercial drone (or, the hole
where it ought to be),” he outlines seven concerns raised by the Government Accountability Office
(GAO), such as the vulnerability of command-and control systems to failure and sabotage (Rothstein,
2015, p. 47), the risk of errors by the human pilot (loc. cit.), or the current lack of regulations
(Rothstein, 2015, p. 48), and introduces four additional aspects that he continues to briefly discuss:

A) “The issue of privacy” (Rothstein, 2015, p. 49): Since drones tend to come equipped with
a variety of sensors, especially considering their military history as surveillance and recon-
naissance-agents, Rothstein points toward privacy issues, as drones could be used to easily
spy on other people and their most private activities.
B) A general point on automation and subsequent job-loss (loc. cit.), which applies not only
to the possibility of autonomous drones but also to a variety of technologies, such as auto-
mated manufacturing or, more recently, advances in self-driving cars.
C) The danger of being re-introduced to their military usage (loc. cit.), as drones could (ques-
tionably) easily be equipped with weaponry or, more generally speaking, not-so-commercial
payloads. This aspect will be discussed in greater detail in the last section of this first review-
part as ‘The Drone and the democratization of warfare and terrorism’.
D) The drone’s cultural relevance as a symbol of military power and warfare: Being a deriva-
tive of military technology, Rothstein points out that drones could evoke images of military
usage that might influence the ways in which this technology is interpreted and integrated
through/in society. In addition to being closely related to the previous issue (C), this last con-
cern seems to contradict Rothstein’s vision of technologies as technologies in discourse,
whereby not only are the technologies themselves altered through processes of updates and
integration (‘parts and wholes’) but their perception is also being continually shaped and iter-
ated upon as well. This last point is explicitly being discussed in the aforementioned chapter
twelve in the context of memes, which are not only being copied and reproduced (Rothstein,
2015, p. 137; – for a fundamental conceptual differentiation of different modes of social inter-
action, see Tarde, 1898/2000), but rather evolve and mutate, thereby changing the understand-
ing of a given artifact in the public eye. (For an example of a particular meme, the Pepe-Frog,
and its transformation throughout recent history, see Pelletier-Gagnon & Pérez Trujillo Diniz,
2018) Therefore, it is not apparent why the drone’s cultural meaning should be limited to its
military roots.

Most of the ethical concerns (A–D) raised by the authors are valid and warrant further discussion,
however his conclusion seems rather simplistic and contradicts the overarching and very important
point this book makes on the transitory character of technological narratives in general terms. While
he rightfully points out that “Of course, objects are often used for completely different purposes than
they were designed for, and they do things that no one intends at all.” (Rothstein, 2015, p. 88), his
normative recommendation to account “for the entire realm of possibility, not just barnstorm into the
future.” (Rothstein, 2015, p. 143) defies this premise, as it is not at all apparent or even conceivable
which parts of a given technology could be integrated in possibly harmful technologies in the future.
While this ethical stance is good at heart, the author’s recommendation to only advance technologies
that cannot be put to harmful use seems rather short-sighted and is not coherent in respect to the
socio-technological, narrative-based conception of technology he previously presented.

The Drone and the Democratization of Warfare and Terrorism

While it would be a mistake to assume that drones can only be employed for military purposes
(the second part of this review will outline three emerging drone-narratives beyond their military
4 Space and Culture 00(0)

usage) and that, subsequently, their public image will inevitably remain that of the hunter-drone,
it is apparent that even cheap to-buy or to-build quadcopters may be retrofitted to allow for usage
in military or terroristic contexts. In fact, rather recent reports on drones being sighted above
airports such as Gatwick, London, show that, even without military-grade armaments, drones
may very well be employed to disrupt air-traffic and, in the worst case, possibly lead to the loss
of lives if taken in by the engines of starting, (commercial) aircraft. Although calling these acts
of unlawful disturbance terrorism seems somewhat far-fetched, one can clearly see how drone
technology may enable single individuals to, rather anonymously, project damage far beyond
what previously would have been possible without access to less common tools such as weapons
or explosives by, for example, targeting civilian (or military) airports.(Wakefield, 2018).
This aspect of drone usage could therefore be described as democratization of terrorism (or
warfare) in the sense that the tools to wage war or to engage in terroristic attacks are no longer
exclusive to states or organizations, but instead may be carried out by the drone(s) of single or
few individuals that project their will in a way similar to how a soldier projects the will of a state.
Of course, calling these kinds of actions “democratic” does not imply that they are somehow less
despicable than similar actions carried out by larger organizations. An act of terrorism remains an
act of terrorism, no matter who engages in it; however, it should be noted that the capacities to
carry out such acts are shifting toward the individual, and one could argue that drone technology,
amongst other factors, plays a significant role in this change.
On a similar note, drone technology not only empowers individuals seeking to engage in these
kinds of radical actions but can be used in a political protest-context, too. In April 2015, a
Japanese man by the name of Yasuo Yamamoto used a slightly modified DJI Phantom, a common
hobby-drone, to drop a small quantity of radioactive sand, gathered from the area surrounding the
Fukushima reactor plant, on a government building, hereby protesting the pro-nuclear-power
stance of the Japanese Government. (Mogg 2015a; This act of protest, in turn, has brought the
Tokyo police force to employ drones, to catch rogue drones, themselves, see Mogg 2015b).
Again, the line between political activism, unlawful disturbance, and terrorism is a fine one;
however, it should be noted that this empowerment of individuals, previously described in the
con,texts of warfare and terrorism extends beyond these domains and fundamentally changes the
way we think about events like political protests and what constitutes them, both in terms of
protests being carried out through drones (like the example earlier) or protests being enhanced by
drones, by, for example, providing protesters with a view from above for improved
coordination.

Towards the Commercial Drone: From Projectized Weapon

Back to the Hobbyist’s Shed: Exploring Three Emerging
Narratives
Whilst the first part of review took a closer look at Adam Rothstein’s Drone, the following, sec-
ond part extends his method of conceptualizing technological innovations as discourses and pres-
ents three examples of emerging drone-narratives: the (medical) supply-drone, the manned drone
and the racing-drone.
Even though the drone’s relevance, in terms of both its strategic and tactical military value and
its power as a cultural symbol are undisputed, the long-term commercial success of this technol-
ogy still appears rather nebulous. Aside from applications in aerial photography and filmmaking
(Rothstein, 2015, p. 41–43), which could be regarded as a mere extension of its military frame of
use, the commercial drone “or the hole where it ought to be” (Rothstein, 2015, p. 35) is yet to find
its’ niches. In his first outline of this emerging field, Rothstein introduced the possibility of using
the drone as couriers for medical supplies (referring to the startup “Matternet” on page XII; https://
Weller 5

Figure 1.  Symbolic image: The medical drone.

Source: Shutterstock.

mttr.net), hereby implying that the drone’s commercial future could, in part, be found in the realm
of commodity-delivery like, for example, airborne food supplies. (Rothstein, 2015, p. 43)
New startups, explicitly “Zipline” (https://flyzipline.com/), another company focusing on
delivering medical supplies via drones (Figure 1), have taken up the concept of autonomous, fly-
ing delivery vehicles in modified form: Dropping medical supplies via parachute from an internal
storage (not unlike bomb-bays in military context) instead of vertically landing and placing the
commodities in a specified area (as conceptualized by companies such as Matternet) allows
Zipline to employ drone technologies without vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities,
thereby bypassing energy-efficiency issues, commonly related to multicopters, and instead opt-
ing for a more traditional plane-like layout with extended range and improved aerial stability.
In tracing the emergence of this narrative and its relation to yet unsuccessful counterparts (for
example the delivery drone for more commonplace commodities such as food or electronics),
medical supplies fulfill three criteria, which appear crucial for successful adaption in aerial
delivery-systems:
High value, limited size, and comparatively low weight commodities seem perfectly suited
for delivery via drone, especially if these items can be delivered via parachute (which is very
much dependent upon the commodities being limited in size and having low weight). While this
brings up a number of legitimate, ethical concerns (like the danger of (medical) supplies being
dropped in inadequate locations such as on peoples’ heads), one can easily imagine that, follow-
ing these three criteria, drones could be employed to deliver not only small units of medical sup-
plies but also, for example, drugs in more general terms for medical or recreational usage directly
to the customer, as well. (Currently, this usage of drone-technology, the “Narco-Drone” [see
Fiegel, 2017], is restricted to those who do not fear breaking the law; however, one could easily
6 Space and Culture 00(0)

Figure 2.  Manned DIY drone.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYLGhVPp8lw&t=990s.

imagine that, given liberal laws around the trade of drugs were to take effect, this use of the drone
as drugcourier could very well become a common reality.)
To further improve efficiency and accuracy of delivery, the re-integration of military technol-
ogy like laser- or GPS-based guidance systems to allow for the successful deployment of multi-
ple (re-usable) delivery-shells (avoiding the parent-term “bomb”) in a short period of time could
help in improving the safety, reliability, and accuracy of delivery while cutting costs through not
having to land for the delivery of commodities and the capability of carrying numerous, deploy-
able delivery-units at once.
A different recent application of drone-technology that, surprisingly enough, comes in the
form of the by now almost mystical “flying car” can currently be followed on tinkerers’ channels
on social media, such as “amazingdiyprojects” on YouTube (Figure 2).
This form of drone narratives diverges from the drone in a military context in two central
aspects. First, as described in the first part of this review, the military drone represents a
form of projectized weapon, conceptualized and developed from scratch by government
institutions or closely affiliated companies. This narrative of the “personal drone” (amongst
others) brings drone technology back to the hobbyists’ and tinkerers’ sheds, opening up this
field to the creativity of a whole community beyond a singular, closed development
complex.
Second, this interpretation of the drone seems to undermine the drone’s very definition as an
unmanned vehicle (originally as target drone; Rothstein, 2015, p. 27), yet it provides a prime
example of the aforementioned conceptual differentiation between “parts and wholes.” While
this aircraft does not share the identifying characteristic of being unmanned, it nevertheless uses
dedicated drone technology, such as brushless motors, arranged (in groups) in the characteristic
quadcopter layout and controlled via conventional flight controllers to engage these parts in a
new, yet related narrative that re-integrates the pilot in his aircraft on the basis of technology that
sought to radically transform this relationship through the pilot’s removal from a locally inte-
grated cockpit.
The last drone-narrative to be presented in this context that only recently emerged from the
tinkerers’ realm and that, amongst others, might prove important in shaping the way in which
Weller 7

Figure 3.  A pilot and his racing-drone.

Source: Shutterstock.

drones are perceived by society can be described as drone-racing: (Rothstein, 2011, already
touched upon this possibility in “Drone Ethnography”, sketching out what might become a
“Nascar of Drones.”)
In contrast to the previous example of drone narratives, the drones employed in these kinds of
races may appear much more drone-like, yet their potential transformative impact on the drone’s
cultural relevance can hardly be understated. Drone races (Figure 3) are allowing not only for a
community-driven conception of the drone—instead of being a kind of ‘lone hunter’, stalking
from above, drones are being integrated in the contest between pilots and their relationship to the
spectator—but also for a fundamentally new mode of experiencing race-events: Commonly, the
operator’s perspective (be it races on the ground like Formula 1, NASCAR or Air-races like those
hosted for example by Red Bull) is fundamentally different from the spectators’ perspective;
however, since race-drones are operated via first-person livestream, the spectator could experi-
ence the race from the pilot’s perspective through participation in these streams in addition to his
third-person-perspective. Adam Rothstein already touched upon the relationship between con-
trolling a drone and the viewpoint that the pilot takes in regard to this operation (egocentric—like
FPV drones—vs. exocentric, Rothstein, 2015, p. 127–130); however, additional research will be
required to understand the specific implications of a combination of egocentric and exocentric
points of view, especially in terms of its potential to be shared and commercialized in both online
and offline environments.

Conclusion: The Drone as a Space of Human Culture

Concluding this second part of the two-part review, which provided an exploration of three
possible, emerging narratives and their relevance to the drone as a technological and societal
8 Space and Culture 00(0)

entity, this concluding summary addresses the book Drone (Rothstein, 2015) in more general
terms: Even though technology (drone technology being no exception) is moving at a rapid
pace, the book not only retains its value as a cross-section of what drone technology currently
(or rather in 2015) enables us to achieve (and destroy) or an historical analysis of where the
drone came from but instead it also provides us with a fundamental understanding of techno-
logical narratives in discourses, presenting in great detail how technologies as parts and
wholes are integrated in emerging tech. This analysis is performed through a socio-technolog-
ical lens, allowing for the accounting of the interwoven nature of social practices and the
technologies we produce. The book thereby carefully moves between materialist and sociolo-
gist perspectives (Latour, 1994. p.42) without falling into radical interpretations of either.
The drone’s ethical components or, more generally speaking, the ethics of responsible, tech-
nological innovation are very much welcome and encourage the reader to critically assess the
implications of introducing new technologies into our lives. The presentation of both specific
ethical issues raised toward the drone as well as more general suggestions on responsible innova-
tion practices shows how ethical concerns arise from a multitude of levels throughout the imple-
mentation process of a given technology, even though the second issue on responsible innovation
practices in general terms appears underdeveloped and accounts neither for the epistemological
limits of actually recognizing a technology’s harmful implications nor for the temporal aspect
that might transform our conception of ethical innovation throughout time. In conclusion, this
book is a must-read for anyone explicitly interested in drone technology, or the relationship
between technological narratives in more general terms, and inspires us to imagine what other
applications the drone might be used for.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD
Kevin Weller https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9113-9512

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Weller 9

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Author Biography
Kevin Weller is a PhD student at the Munich Centre for Technology in Society (TUM). His research
focusses on the interplay between the emergence of new technologies and their societal integration. In his
PhD-project, he focuses on societal disruptions introduced by drone-technology and on how societal dis-
course shapes a common understanding of what we mean when talking about ‘the drone’ in abstract terms.