Commercial drone use for deliveries and services will remove a major obstacle in the US as soon as this week, with new requirements requiring most devices to send a radio beacon with a digital license plate to ensure safety and prevent abuse.
All the smallest drones, except the smallest drones, must broadcast a radio signal identifying them and their location under new According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a summary of the action reviewed by Bloomberg News.
The new regulations, which come into force 30 months after the rule was finalized, are an important foundation needed before drone deliveries and other trade can take place. This is the most important regulatory expansion of drone capabilities since the devices began to enter civilian markets about a decade ago.
The rules will be an essential building block to enable more complex drone operations, the agency said in the summary.
The action breaks a regulatory roadblock that has brought about the growth in pilotless aircraft technology in the US. An ID broadcast is needed, expressing concern from federal law enforcement agencies and homeland security agencies that the increasingly capable aircraft will be used for crime and terrorism.
A few years ago, the FAA was set up to extend drone flights over crowds in some cases and allow it regularly at night, but the other agencies would not allow it to continue with the rules until it addressed the growing concern about abuse of have not addressed the devices. . Separate rules for crowd operations are also expected soon.
The FAA did not comment on its plans for the new regulation. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget concluded its review of the regulation on Wednesday website.
It will be years before swarms of drones are operated by companies such as Prime Air from Amazon.com Inc., Termination of Alphabet Inc. Wing and United Parcel Service Inc. buzzing about neighborhoods handing out packages. But the new rules provide an important platform for the industry to move toward these goals.
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A robust drone tracking system is needed to ensure that the public accepts these new ventures. UPS Flight Forward commented on the proposal earlier this year. “If illegal and unsafe operators cannot be identified and stopped, trust in the system will be eroded and voluntary compliance will be undermined,” the company wrote.
The new regulation requires drones weighing more than 0.25 kilograms to broadcast their identity on a low-power radio frequency such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This way, police or other authorities can monitor nearby drones.
According to the summary, civilian drones offered for sale in the US should be equipped with such technology from 18 months after the rules are finalized. Operators may not take off without a working ID beacon.
The regulations also allow existing drones to be equipped with such a system.
The rule does not require the devices to be transmitted on a signal that can be sent by mobile systems to a national tracking network, a measure that was originally included in a proposal. unveiled last year.
Wing, Amazon and others looking to create delivery companies have asked the FAA to allow such an internet-based national network to track the devices.
Hobbies flying with the devices can seek exemptions so that they can operate without an ID beacon, as long as they are flown in restricted areas approved by the FAA. Flying clubs like the Academy of Model Aviation and educational institutions may apply for such exemptions.
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The FAA, which responds to requests from recreational users and industry groups, adds privacy restrictions that will make it impossible for the public to identify the operator of a drone using the ID beacon.
The FAA will keep the information confidential, he said in the summary, and provide it to law enforcement and national security agencies if requested. This is a departure from traditional aviation where the FAA’s flight detection is usually public.
The new rules are an attempt to address the explosion in the use of drones. The FAA has registered nearly 1 million recreational drone users and they have owned 1.3 million devices since last year. According to the data, 385 000 commercial drones were registered with the agency.
At the same time there was a boom of reports of devices flying dangerously near traditional aircraft and helicopters – even Air Force One – and cases where they are used for drug smuggling or terrorist attacks in other nations. The The National Transport Safety Council has conclusion that drones were involved in several U.S. airstrikes.
Because the regulations were considered useful to the industry, the rough draft had great support. The FAAs the proposal for ID beacons issued a year ago garnered more than 53,000 public comments as various voters battled over how it should be implemented.
Traditional hobbies that have been flying model airplanes for decades, some of which do not have the electronics to support a radio beacon, have been said by thousands that they are concerned the rules would be too restrictive.
Recent recreational users using small buyers have said they are concerned about setting up their aircraft or adding new requirements to it. Many have also expressed concerns about privacy over how the tracking information could be used.