NEW ARTICLE SERIES, Drones: Controlling Deployment, Part 2

Drones, though not the latest invention, are making rapid forays into a number of fields due to the amount of attention and budgets dedicated to their advancement; the regulations which were the much-needed are slowing sliding into place one by one.

Go to any technological exhibition or show, these gadgets are bound to make an appearance in various sizes, colors and applications. There is no dearth of innovations and shapes that these tiny flying wonders; and the uses are abundant.

The market is growing by leaps and bounds and is burgeoning out of control; authorities like the FAA are still facing a monumental task for regulating the use of Drones by individuals and businesses.

The FAA is maintaining a tight hold on the commercial and personal use of Drones with a blanket order and very strict regulations governing the usage of Drones, commercially and otherwise.

The regulation part is enough to give a massive headache to any authority but the enforcement continues to be the most ticklish and sensitive issue because detention of sporadic uses around the country is almost impossible unless reported by members of the communities.

Justification exists for a clampdown on plying the Drones due to two major areas of concern:

1. There is hardly any drone which is manufactured without equipping it with a camera; this makes it an excellent tool for peeping into people’s homes and encroaching on their privacy; no place remains concealed if a drone hovers overhead,
2. The battery-life of Drones is very much limited and there is always a very real concern with regards to its safety and of those around. Once the battery gets exhausted in mid-air, the drone will just come crashing down causing injuries or damage.

Hence, the manufacturers of Drones are faced with a very monumental challenge of enhancing the time of flight for their UAVs; while some companies are claiming that their Drones can remain in the air or an hour, it remains a well-known fact that the battery-time in most of these cherished machines remains limited to less than half an hour.

With more and more innovative uses that these aerial toys are being put to day by day, the technological giants are increasing the quality and range of the cameras for amateur and professional usage; thus, these innovative machines are now required to be registered under law before they can be deployed.

This deployment will also be covered substantially by a number of rules that govern them; this will keep a tight leash on the Drone-related accidents leading to responsible plying.

The owners will also have to get the registration number visibly written on the drone for easier identification.

The markets are getting flooded with Drones selling more than half a million pieces every holiday season; the prices range from $50 to $2000. The general rules for plying a Drone that you are governed by many rules biding you while using a Drone:

1. You cannot fly them everywhere; they have to maintain a minimum distance of five miles (may be more as decided by the regulatory authority) from the airport, air-force installations and airstrips,

1. The height which they can flu up to is limited to 400 m or such lower height as the local regulatory authorities may stipulate,

1. No-fly zones are out of bound for these flying toys strictly,

1. The person controlling the Drone should at all times be able to see it while in flight; some manufacturers have installed GPS on these machines so that they can be kept out of the no-flying zones;

1. The registration is done under the department of transportation and the names of the owners are maintained in the National Registry;

1. Since the Drones are easily carried away by strong gusts of winds, it is recommended that it is safe to only fly them when calm winds are prevailing,

1. The minimum weight condition for registration is half a pound, and

1. While GPS prevents straying into no-fly zones, some new machines are updating the real-time curbs like forest fires, stadiums and national parks.

Drones mean business

While the strictness of the rules is necessary, the administration adopts a reasonable approach in providing permissions and allowing registrations in the case of genuine business uses like:

1. Search and Rescue operations during the normal course and when natural calamities strike,
2. Live-stock tracking is very important to ranches and others,
3. During construction work and for real estate imaging and photography,
4. Specific business requirements,

Amazon has come up with a Drone for effecting deliveries in the cities and adjoining areas; it has the capabilities of both an airplane as well as a helicopter. These have the potential of going out of sight.

The real dangers are trees, buildings, power lines and other Drones.

There was also a call for banning the Drones but it fizzled out soon. Every new initiative faces adverse criticism as well as receiving wholehearted support; some of the criticism is born out of a genuine concern with some good intentions while the other part is all due to bias and motivations by parties which may or may not be interested parties.

There has been an ongoing debate about the validity of Drones, the legality of Drones, the necessity of Drones, the need for regulations for controlling the misuse of Drones, the security concerns associated with drones, the testing of drones but the Federal Aviation Administration is coming up with regulations.

The farm sector has been making fervent appeals to the FAA for blanket permission for utilizing Drones for Agricultural and Farm-sector over longer distances but the final shape that the rules take will decide the shape of things to come.

The rules of the FAA are out and we are watching with anticipation.

Author: Umrao Singh

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