Drones have landed – as one of the hottest gifts over this past holiday season and one of the biggest hits at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show this past week.
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), as they are also known, are like model airplanes on steroids. They can hover, fly and often come equipped with cameras. They can belong to you or anyone else for under $100 dollars.
The cheap availability and growing capabilities of drones means that there are privacy and safety issues at stake.
We’ve already seen drones experience near misses with aircraft at major airports while unmanned flying cameras are an obvious threat to privacy.
It’s clear that drones are going to be around for a while and that legislation is needed to set reasonable and responsible limitations for recreational drone use.
However, regulation is still very much up in the air, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Who is taking action on drones?
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued a list of do’s and don’ts for flying safety regarding model aircraft for recreational use. These mostly focus on keeping them away from flying aircraft, airports and within sight line of the user. (See guidelines here.)
National Parks Service has banned drones from all National Parks, worried that the noise and proximity to wildlife would disturb nesting, migratory, and reproductive habits. The NPS also noted visitor safety was an issue.
Drone industry officials announced that they are teaming up with the government and model aircraft hobbyists to launch a safety campaign, which includes a website (www.knowbeforeyoufly.com) that includes safety tips and FAA regulations.
In the U.K, the Civilian Air Authority has already set protocols, mostly involving flying over congested areas and airspace, and the European Aviation Safety Agency is developing EU-wide safety standards which reportedly will be as high as those for manned aircraft.
Commercial use of drones has become a thorny subject and there is pending legislation in U.S. Congress that might even require commercial drone operators to have pilot licenses.
With all this legislation in the works, it’s clear there’s a lot more to this year’s hot toy story than first meets the eye. And you can bet there’s going to be a lot more to come…