Sometime ago I was involved in a very lengthy discussion about how to get timely aerial imagery of a disaster zone. We covered everything from relying on Google to update Google Earth to sending DVD’s via DHL to the disaster zone. We even discussed drones, balloons, kites, etc. At the end of the day there was no clear winner. To add to the mix here is a story (via Gizmodo) about a guy who tied some LEGOs to a weather balloon and snapped pics from the ground up to some ridiculous height.
Needless to say if you show up at customs with a tank of compressed helium you might get some funny looks and if you start releasing balloons over a disaster zone you might just get shot. I don’t think the LEGO/balloon solution will take hold any time soon but those pics are just so damn cool I had to write this one up. Follow the link for some great photos and a video of some guy letting go of a balloon.
