Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, announced at the workshop that he plans to propose rules concerning the operation of drones directly over people by the end of this year.
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“Just last week, two people lost their lives in two different accidents involving crop dusters, exactly the type of job that a small unmanned aircraft can do with far less risk to people and to property on the ground”, Huerta said.
The approval was part of a major drones push delivered by the USA government, which is also spending over $35 million on drone research and testing over the next five years.
“Safely integrating drones into the national airspace is one of our top priorities at the FAA, and it’s very important we get it right”, Huerta said.
“This is an industry that’s moving at the speed of Silicon Valley”.
Commercial drones could generate more than $82 billion for the United States economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years, according to industry estimates.
Among the other key actions being taken are: 1) $35 million in funding for a five-year study by the National Science Foundation on beneficial applications of drones including the study of severe weather, infrastructure inspection; 2) deploying drones in search and rescue operations by the Department of the Interior; 3) using drones to encourage STEM education; and 4) the post office is also planning to publish new findings on using drones for package delivery.
The rule states that drone operators must be at least 16 years old and have a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, or be directly supervised by someone with the certificate.
In addition, the Future of Privacy Forum, Intel and PrecisionHawk released a report calling on drone makers to embrace privacy early in the design process, in response to concerns among consumers.
“We need to incorporate unmanned aircraft and their users into our culture of safety and responsibility”.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is all for harnessing the power of drones but also wants the government to establish privacy rules.
Project Wing will work at one of the six research centers set up by the Federal Aviation Administration for drone tests and its data “will be shared with government partners to help regulators answer critical safety and human factor questions for (drone) cargo delivery operations”, a White House statement said.
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The research grant was just one in a slate of new executive actions created to expand the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration’s “Small UAS” rules, which were announced on June 21 and apply to drones weighing less than 55 pounds being flown for commercial purposes.
