WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal officials say they will allow operators to fly small drones over people and at night, boosting the commercial use of the machines.
Most drones will need to be equipped so that they can be remotely identified by law enforcement officers.
The final rules announced on Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration “bring us closer to the day when we will see drone operations more routinely, like package delivery,” said FAA administrator Stephen Dickson.
Drones are the fastest growing segment in all transport, with more than 1.7 million records, according to the Department of Transport.
However, widespread commercial use of the machines developed much more slowly than many supporters expected. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos once predicted that his company would use drones to deliver goods to customers’ doors in five years, but that prediction is already wrong in two years.
There have been several tests and limited uses. United Parcel Service said last year that it received approval to operate a national drone fleet and has delivered hundreds of deliveries on a hospital campus in North Carolina.
Also last year, Google’s sister company Wing Aviation obtained FAA approval for commercial drone flights in a corner of Virginia.
And last August, Amazon got similar approval from the FAA to deliver packages by drones. The company is still testing the service and has not said when customers will see deliveries.
For drone advocates, impatient with the pace of adoption, regulatory hurdles are the main complaint. Currently, operators who wish to fly a drone over people or at night need an FAA exemption.
The new rules will require drones used at night to include lights that can be seen up to three miles away. Operators will need special training. Small drones flying over people cannot have rotating parts that can cut through the skin.
The rules covering flights over people and nights will take effect in about two months. They finalize the proposed rules issued last year.
All drones that must be registered with the FAA will be required to have equipment that transmits their identification, location and control station or that is operated in areas recognized by the FAA. The so-called remote identification was a requirement imposed by Congress at the request of national security and law enforcement agencies.
Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to start making drones with remote ID, and operators will have a year after that to start using drones with remote ID.