A new web application called Mr. Drones is allowing internet users to design their very own unmanned armed vehicles. Created by interactive artist Rajeev Basu, the site is a combination of Google Street View voyeurism and Microsoft Paint, in which a virtual drone rendering -- set amidst the backdrop of any location you can find on a map -- becomes a customizable canvas. You can spray paint, doodle, or write on your blank UAV, turning the deadly missile into a benign piece of internet art.
The strange arts-meets-military intrigue project is certainly an interesting way of appropriating themes from current events, while highlighting the undefined utility of these stealth machines. “I think most us are still pretty detached from the reality of drones," Basu said in an interview with The Creator's Project. "Pretty soon these affordable, powerful, mini chunks of metal and plastic that think for themselves will be flying over our heads. They might be helping our police, or delivering a package, or whatever."
What do you think: Is Basu on to something? If you want to see more images, you can check out the artist's offshoot project, "Drones of New York," which is the subject of a month-long exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, involving 13 international designers and the institute's DVD Dead Drop initiative.
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