Poised to be one of the fastest-growing industries in American history, unmanned aerial vehicle technology – or drones – is revolutionary. As commercial uses of drone technology continue to develop, its popularity continues to skyrocket, so much so that many influential business analysts have analogized it to the evolution of the Internet commencing in the early 1990's.
It is predicted that at least 700,000 recreational drones will be sold this year, representing a 63 percent increase over the previous year. Furthermore, a recent study found that during the first decade following drone integration into the National Airspace System, the industry will create more than 100,000 high-paying jobs and provide more than $82 billion to the nation's economy.
Both the state and federal governments have been slow to promulgate regulations pertaining to drone usage. While 45 states have considered 168 bills this year pertaining to drones, many of the bills only addressed public sector usage as opposed to commercial or recreational uses.
On a federal level, while the FAA has established a task force to assist with the creation of a registry to identify recreational and commercial drone users, it took the crash-landing of a drone onto the White House lawn in late January 2015 before Congress decided it was time to take a more proactive approach to drone regulation.
On November 19, 2015, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade conducted a hearing to review the rapidly evolving uses of drones and the economic impact they could have on consumers and employers. Several influential expert witnesses provided testimony regarding drone technology, including Intel Corporation Senior Vice President Joshua Walden.
Lawmakers recognized the "many exciting drone applications in various stages of development," yet expressed concern for the public's safety and privacy. To address those concerns, U.S. companies like Intel have been developing technological solutions that would enhance safety automatically.
One such solution, demonstrated at the hearing, is Intel's RealSense, an onboard sensor application for collision avoidance. It features real-time on board computing, and according to Mr. Walden, "it is intuitive, self-aware, adaptable and self-guided." Further, "it provides real time depth sensing capability for a flying drone and combined with GPS, altitude and other onboard sensors, can also avoid no-fly area and comply with regulatory limits." Sound eerily similar to Skynet anyone?
According to the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day, at 2:14 a.m. eastern time on August 29, 1997, Skynet became self-aware.
The Subcommittee chair, Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Tx) noted that "cutting-edge drone testing is occurring overseas because the current process to approve commercial drone use is both restrictive and cumbersome in the U.S." Both lawmakers and expert witnesses called for "quick but flexible regulatory solutions that allow for future innovation."
This flexibility, according to Mr. Walden, "can be achieved through adopting a streamlined certification and approval process, and through exemptions and waivers under existing FAA authority." Simultaneously, "regulations should encourage the use of computing to meet the key challenges to safe integration of drones in the National Airspace System: sense and avoid, collision avoidance, secure geo fencing, and command and control technology."
Noting the wide variety of devices that fall under the definition of drones, the experts recommended the creation of 13 drone categories based on their size and functionality. This would allow commercial uses of small drones without filing requirements.
The hearing offered critical insight into lawmakers' efforts to understand the development of drone technology for commercial and recreational use. As drone technology continues to evolve, lawmakers' concerns for issues such as public safety and privacy are rightly justified. Yet, entrepreneurship and innovation are part of this country's foundation.
Extensive delays in rolling out a new regulatory structure for drones risks U.S. economic opportunity. The testimony at the hearing made clear that lawmakers must quickly implement a flexible, but streamlined regulatory framework that not only positions the U.S. as a leader in drone technology development, but ensures basic consumer protections. The speed of innovation can't remain at the speed of regulation for long.
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