Drone use in the U.S. is
becoming increasingly popular as the technology becomes cheaper and simpler to
use for the novice. The FAA expects
hobbyist drones to increase from 1.1 million drones in 2016 to 3.5 million by
2021 (Shepardson, 2017). Commercial
drones are expected to increase from 42,000 in 2016 to 442,000 by 2021
(Shepardson, 2017). The number of pilots
for drones is expected to grow from 20,000 in 2016 to 200,000-400,000 by 2021
(Shepardson, 2017). In 2016 the White
House commented that by 2025 unmanned aircraft will lead to $82 billion in
economic growth and support an additional 100,000 jobs (Shepardson, 2017).
With that kind of growth
in the unmanned aircraft industry I believe the FAA will have to step in and
develop rules governing their uses, which they have already. The regulations will need to continue to grow
and evolve with the industry. Currently part 107 states pilots need to be
certified, only fly during the day, keep it in line of sight, don’t overfly
people and fly in class G airspace only (Getting Started, 2017).
All of these regulations
make sense and are designed to protect the operators, bystanders and aircraft
in the area. I don’t believe allow for
the full growth of the industry. If
operators could operate beyond line of site it would improve the productivity
of certain occupations that are using drones, such as surveying or land
management. Both Amazon and Google are considering drone use for delivery of
goods, which would require flight beyond line of sight and flying into
neighborhoods around people (Shepardson, 2017). In a 2017 article The Economist
discusses how regulation is going to drive the technology used in drones.
Drone operators and
companies can apply for a waiver for part 107, provided they can show how they
can still be operated safely under the waiver they are asking for (The Future
of Drones, 2017). If a drone needs to be
flown after sunset it requires a light on the drone that is visible from three
miles away and the operator must be trained to fly at night (The Future of
Drones, 2017). Brendan Schulman, head of
policy at DJI, believes that waivers such as night flights will be what leads
to new rules by the FAA (The Future of Drones, 2017). I
think it’s a step in the right direction if the FAA looks at what waivers are
being applied for and shape the polices to allow for the waivers as part of the
regulations.
The FAA is looking to
drone operators on how to allow them to mitigate the risk of flying over people
(The Future of Drones, 2017). DJI is
looking at possibly adding parachutes to drones, some form of cushioning or
making them so light that if they do fall onto someone there would be little
injury caused (The Future of Drones, 2017).
DJI currently supports “geo-fencing”
using AirMap. This uses a database and
the GPS in the DJI to control where drones are and are not allowed to fly, such
as flying to close to an airport, the drone will not allow the operator to
enter an area restricted drone flight (The Future of Drones, 2017). If
the FAA can combine current airspace restrictions and NOTAMs into something such
as AirMap I feel this would be an excellent barrier to keep drones from flying
where they should not. “Geo-fencing” would also allow for beyond line of sight
flight, an operator can't get disoriented and fly into controlled airspace.
The Economist points out
that the regulations are what is going to drive the future of drones. Regulations allowing for night flights will
drive an anti-collision light on drones.
“Geo-fencing” will mean drones will require GPS. If some form of ATC is
developed for drones they will need a version of a transponder, and a way to
detect other drones in their vicinity to avoid collisions. I personally and excited about the future of
drone use and I hope to see the market grow, as well as the FAA stay current on
what rules and regulations are required.
References:
The Future of Drones
Depends on Regulation, not just Technology. (2017, June 10). Retrieved
September 02, 2017, from https://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21723000-engineers-and-regulators-will-have-work-together-ensure-safety-drones-take
Getting Started. (2017, July 31). Retrieved September
02, 2017, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/
Shepardson, D. (2017,
March 22). U.S. commercial drone use to expand tenfold by 2021: government
agency. Retrieved September 02, 2017, from
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drones/u-s-commercial-drone-use-to-expand-tenfold-by-2021-government-agency-idUSKBN16S2NM
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