I wrote something about drones in the Bay Area for SFGate and the Peninsula Press. And made a video.

The flying device moves across the winter sky with a throaty hum reminiscent of a “Star Wars” sound effect. It hovers for a moment, then makes a sudden feint to the left and another to the right, demonstrating remarkable agility for a four-rotor helicopter smaller than a pizza box.

“We love our drones,” says 3D Robotics editorial director Sue Rosenstock, as she gazes at the black-and-blue craft overhead.

This is the Bay Area face of the drone revolution. Here, backyard enthusiasts and entrepreneurs are hoping to usher in a new era for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — couched much more in the starry-eyed optimism of Silicon Valley than in the grim realities of military weaponry and counterterrorism tactics.

Advocates want to see the technology used in industries ranging from agriculture to industrial engineering to movie making. Further, their goal is to make it accessible to just about anyone.

Read more at the Peninsula Press.….or at SFGate. You can do that too.