If the new FAA rules regarding unmanned aircraft operations in the U.S. are any indication, drones are becoming less of a niche hobby and more integrated into everyday life. Of course, the devil is in the details, and what the Federal Aviation Administration seems to take with one hand, takes with the other.
The rule changes, announced on December 28, are billed as “anticipation[ing] safety and innovation ”of the drone industry in the United States. The exciting part, and the aspect that attracted the most attention from headline writers, is the relaxation of the rules against nighttime operation and operation over people and vehicles in motion. Since 2016, it has been against FAA regulations to operate drones under 55 pounds (25 kg) at night or on non-exempt people. This rule can be seen as stifling innovations in drone delivery, since any useful delivery service will likely need to fly over populated areas and roads and will likely do so at night. The new rules allow these operations without waiver for four categories of drones, classified according to the damage they would do if they lost control and hit someone. The rules also define the inspection and certification regimes for aircraft and pilots, in addition to stipulating that operators must have the certificate and identity during the flight.
While it sounds like great news, the other side of the coin may be less bright. The changes in the rules also impose the requirement of “remote ID” (link in PDF), which is considered “a big step towards the total integration of drones in the national airspace system”. Certain drones will be required to carry a system that transmits identification messages directly from the aircraft, including data such as the serial number, location and speed of the drone, as well as the location of the operator. The rules speculate that this would likely be done over WiFi or Bluetooth and would need to be received with personal wireless devices. The exact technical implementation of these rules is left as an exercise for manufacturers, who have 30 months from the time the rules come into force in January to design systems, submit them for certification and install them on their aircraft. Drone operators have another year to really start using remote ID drones.
To the drone community, these changes to the rules seem like a mix of things. To be fair, it is not exactly unexpected that drones are marked with radios like that, and the waiting time allowed by the FAA for Remote ID compliance seems generous. The ability to operate in more risky environments will undoubtedly be welcomed by commercial drone operators. So, who knows – maybe the rules will do what they say they will, and that will spur innovation in the industry a little. If so, you can make it all a positive result.