This past weekend Drones, Data X Conference took place in Santa Cruz, CA where between 550 and 1,000 inventors, investors, regulators and the general public got to see what the future of drones may look like.
The big news from the conference came on Friday when Jim Williams, who is in charge of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office, (UAS are drones for the rest of us) told a rapt audience that the FAA is re-considering its “line of sight” mandate. Basically, the line of sight rule means just that — that drones must be in the sight of their operators at all times.
Specifically, the FAA last summer announced a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’ regarding model aircraft, mostly focused on keeping them away from airports and within sight line of the user. The FAA followed this up with proposed regulations this February that would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations. The rule also addresses height restrictions, operator certification, optional use of a visual observer, aircraft registration and marking, and operational limits. (You can read more about it here.)
The line-of-sight rule has been key for businesses. You can imagine the chilling effect this proposed rule had on companies that were viewing drones as a key technology delivery method to add to their services, or, really for a hundred other commercial uses, from real estate to agriculture and more. So, this apparent change of view on the part of the FAA is huge.
“We understand there’s a lot of value in flying out of line of sight and that’s one of the areas we’re looking to get ahead rapidly in the next few years,” Williams said, in his presentation on Friday. (You can see a video from Mashable here.)
This has to be welcome news for those in the commercial food chain, from giant companies like Amazon to small start-ups dreaming up ways to use drones commercially. (Of note, Amazon Prime Air was a sponsor of the event).
If drones can be used safely, there are millions of great commercial and humanitarian uses ahead: from product delivery (including pizzas!) to autonomous personal air transportation via drones (hello Jetsons!), to rescuing lost hikers and delivering life-saving supplies in emergency situations, among those discussed at last week’s conference.
What also strikes me is that many of the same technologies that are coming to self-driving cars will be a way to ensure drone safety as well. Sensors, radar, lasers, cameras, and mapping technology all come into play.
“Every home is going to have a drone pretty soon,” predicted Parimal Keparekar, who works for NASA in air traffic management research, and is quoted in the Santa Cruz Sentinel describing efforts to build a highway in the sky for them. “Right now there is no congestion management problem, but eventually there will be.”
There’s still a lot to be figured out before that day arrives, including more focus on associated privacy and data concerns.
While the FAA works on getting the rules down, NASA Unmanned Aerial Systems announced it will host a UAS Traffic Management Convention, July 28-30 at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA. The focus will be on “low altitude traffic management with reference to policy issues such as privacy, safety and security, emerging markets and international perspectives.” To learn more and register: SVC-AUVSI.org.
