While drone delivery services are certainly on the agendas of large retailers like Amazon, inmates in jails across the U.S. are already using drones to receive their own aerial contraband shipments. Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that there have been many attempts over the past five … Continue Reading
According to recent studies and statistics, unmanned aerial systems (or drones) promise to have the most dynamic growth of any sector in the aerospace industry. With the ease of airspace regulations and operational limitations set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (for the most part), the flood of investments, and the introduction of new drone … Continue Reading
Over the past decade, since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) first permitted the use of drones for commercial and hobbyist purposes, after the 2012 directive of Congress for the FAA to come up with a “comprehensive plan” for integrating drones into the National Airspace, drone use has grown substantially. However, with that growth has come … Continue Reading
The town of Garfield, New Jersey has introduced new regulations related to hobbyist drone operation—or better yet, the non-operation of drones above residences other than your own, commercial zones, roadways, government or public buildings and specific property and parks that the city designates. Hobbyist drone operators may only fly their drones over their own residences. … Continue Reading
The Drone Federalism Act of 2017, introduced by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, Mike Lee, Richard Blumenthal, and Tom Cotton, seeks to “establish a process for federal, state, local and tribal governments to work together to manage the use of recreational and commercial drones.” This bill would allow “communities to create low-altitude speed limits, local no-drone … Continue Reading
As more drones take to the skies in Nevada, which is home to one of only six of the country’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS) Designated Test Sites, officials are trying to figure out how to keep them all from crashing into each other. While the FAA and the National Aeronautics and … Continue Reading
President Trump’s administration is asking Congress to grant the federal government power to track, hack and destroy any type of drone that is flying over domestic soil. The draft legislation includes new exception to laws governing surveillance, computer privacy and aircraft protection. This draft legislation stems from the government’s growing concern for the widespread use … Continue Reading
Drone data is used in construction (3-D mapping, site surveying), agriculture (crop mapping), energy (solar and wind turbine monitoring), insurance (roof inspections), infrastructure (inspection), communications (damage assessments) and countless other industries. These industries, and more, have long sought data ‘from above,’ generally from satellites or airplanes, but drones are better sensors in the sky. Drone … Continue Reading
The D.C. Circuit ruled late last week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Drone Registration Rule does not apply to model aircraft. The court held that the FAA does not have authority to regulate model aircraft under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, and therefore, vacated the drone registration rule for model aircraft. … Continue Reading
Amazon announced this week that its development of an air-traffic control system for its package delivery drones (and other commercial drones flying in the national airspace) has taken off –pun intended. This air-traffic control system would support Amazon’s package delivery system from the warehouse to the customer’s doorstep. This air-traffic control system was created by … Continue Reading
The commercial drone market is booming. While estimates certainly vary, many research firms say that the worldwide market value will rise from $2 billion today to over $10 billion within the next 10 years. Similar to the GPS and Internet boom, drones are evolving beyond their military origin to become powerful business tools. Goldman Sachs … Continue Reading
A 27-year old resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jonathan Kolleh, was arrested and spent 14 hours in a holding cell last week for flying his drone in the vicinity of the National Football League (NFL) Draft. Kolleh began using drones for his filmmaking last year after purchasing a DJI drone. While shooting his latest project, “Straight … Continue Reading
By 2020, it is estimated that 7 million drones will be flying around the country delivering packages, taking photos, inspecting infrastructure or conducting search and rescue missions. However, before that happens, we will need a system in place to avoid collisions –between the drones themselves, building, people, and most importantly, passenger aircraft. The National Aeronautics … Continue Reading
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 4,836 workers were killed on the job in 2015—that means, if you break it down, that more than 90 workers lost their lives each week on jobsites. These jobsite deaths were more likely to occur in industries such as construction, inspection and mining. In addition to … Continue Reading
S.B. 299, introduced by Senator Eric Koch, has passed the Indiana General Assembly, and is on its way to the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb for his final consideration. S.B. 299 would create Class A misdemeanor offenses specifically related to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drones) to address the public’s concerns on voyeurism, harassment and … Continue Reading
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), along with a group of universities, conducted a study to determine the risks associated with flying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over people. The group of universities included the University of Alabama-Huntsville; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Mississippi State University; and the University of Kansas, through the Alliance for System Safety of UAS … Continue Reading
As we discussed in our previous post, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published over 200 airport facility maps last week to aid drone operators in safer operation and streamline the authorization process for commercial drone operations. The maps depict areas and altitudes near airports where drones are permitted to operate safely. With the maps, the … Continue Reading
The Police Foundation, a non-profit organization for policing across the United States, recently released a new infographic for law enforcement agencies seeking to establish a program for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones). The infographic, “UAS and Public Safety” accessible here, includes an overview of operational, training, and legal and regulatory compliance considerations for … Continue Reading
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced an audit of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “approval and oversight processes” for Part 107 waivers for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations. The audit will begin before month’s end and will assess the FAA’s processes for granting waivers and … Continue Reading
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to release a set of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) facility maps on April 27, 2017. These maps will help drone operators improve their Part 107 airspace authorization requests, and in turn, hopefully help the FAA process these requests more quickly. The maps will include specific areas and altitudes near … Continue Reading
On April 7, 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a Notice to Airmen (Notice) that becomes effective on April 14, 2017. The Notice prohibits the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over 133 military facilities to an altitude of 400 feet. The FAA is relying on its authority and ability to address national security … Continue Reading
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Northrop Grumman, and Aviation & Communication & Surveillance Systems (ACSS) recently announced a series of successful drone flights testing sense-and-avoid systems. One of the key issues with flying a drone beyond-visual-line-of-sight is that the sense-and-avoid technology is slow to come to market. While it is certainly out there and being … Continue Reading
The Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) voiced its opinion on the drone privacy legislation that was recently reintroduced by U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey and U.S. Representative Peter Welch. The Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act, seeks to ensure transparency and privacy of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations. However, the CDA argues that this bill would … Continue Reading
Last week, a Kentucky federal judge, U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, threw out the lawsuit against William H. Merideth, also known as the ‘Drone Slayer’, a drone pilot who was sued for the downing of an unmanned aircraft (i.e., drone) using his shotgun. Judge Russell found that the drone owner, John David Boggs, cannot … Continue Reading
