A futuristic robot air force is slowly growing in the Illawarra's parks. Controlled with pinpoint accuracy, the machines zip across the sky with seeming precision.
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Watching them can make you feel as though you've stepped into a science-fiction movie.
Known as "quadcopters", the devices have a small but enthusiastic following in the Illawarra, with about five members making up Team Razorback, Southern Division.
"I've flown up on beaches and people go 'oh that's really cool'," club member Michael Stoboi says.
Similar devices, called "drones", have become controversial, due to their use by armed forces to conduct secret targeted attacks.
But drones is not a term Mr Stoboi likes, and he corrects me when I use it to describe his "fancy toys".
"What we have is quadcopters; we basically have fancy toys.
"Quadcopters are a developing hobby. The boards, the flight controllers, it's all very new. It's only been out a few years and it's going ahead in leaps and bounds."
Team Razorback members often meet in the Illawarra's southern suburbs, as well as with other enthusiasts from greater Sydney.
While most members spend several hundred dollars to source specialty pieces from the US and China, then assemble their own quadcopters, smaller devices can be bought built-up for about $70.
Stoboi says his love of model aircraft spurred his interest in quadcopters.
He also flies as an observer with the Bendigo Bank Aerial Patrol to satisfy his flight cravings.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is reviewing its laws for remotely piloted aircraft systems, as the legislation was first formulated in 1998, long before quadcopters became a hobby. This leaves hobbyists in a grey area, but Stoboi says they follow strict guidelines, neither flying above 125 metres nor going within 30 metres of a person.
"Some people want to go distance . . . they'll fly 15 kilometres away, but that's a long walk to get it back if something happens," he says.
The other main concern involves privacy relating to the devices' ability to transmit real-time video back to the remote-control operator.
But, as Stoboi explains, the video is used to enhance the feeling of actually being in the pilot's seat.
"We put cameras on them . . . the view you get is exactly the same as being in a light aircraft, though we're nowhere near as high," he says.
Stoboi says the technology could have huge benefits for emergency services.
"They can be used to search for missing objects, people, ideally they're suited for checking out rips and currents in beaches," he says.
"If you're looking for someone in a mine, you have the danger of fumes, the risk of it collapsing.
"If you're in there with a quadcopter and it collapses then great, you grab another one and have another go."
Anyone interested in the group should visit facebook.com/TRBmultirotors.