{"id":2480,"date":"2013-11-08T11:40:11","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T17:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=2480"},"modified":"2013-11-08T11:40:11","modified_gmt":"2013-11-08T17:40:11","slug":"d-day-faa-preps-for-invasion-of-7500-drones-in-u-s-airspace-within-five-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/d-day-faa-preps-for-invasion-of-7500-drones-in-u-s-airspace-within-five-years\/","title":{"rendered":"D-Day: FAA preps for invasion of 7,500 drones in U.S. airspace within five years"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Kellan Howell, The Washington Times
\nclick here for original article<\/a><\/p>\n

The chief of the\u00a0Federal Aviation Administration<\/a>\u00a0predicted Thursday that U.S. airspace could be crowded with as many as\u00a07,500 commercial\u00a0drones\u00a0within the next five years, as he unveiled\u00a0a\u00a0long-awaited regulatory\u00a0blueprint\u00a0that seeks\u00a0to protect Americans\u2019 privacy while\u00a0requiring\u00a0testing\u00a0for law enforcement and private companies seeking to operate unmanned aerial vehicles.<\/p>\n

FAA<\/a>\u00a0Administrator\u00a0Michael Huerta<\/a>\u00a0said his agency would set up\u00a0six\u00a0sites\u00a0around the country to test\u00a0drone operators,\u00a0but\u00a0cautioned that there could be delays for those\u00a0looking to obtain certificates to operate unmanned aircraft once the regulatory guidelines are in place. He said ensuring safety in increasingly congested skies was his agency\u2019s top priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must fulfill those obligations in a thoughtful, careful manner that ensures safety and promotes economic growth,\u201d Mr.\u00a0Huerta<\/a>\u00a0said in a speech to aerospace industry executives.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u2019s announcement is the latest step in the march toward transitioning drones from the military use in the war on terror\u00a0that made them famous to civilian\u00a0applications that can range from collecting survey and weather data to assisting rescues and law enforcement operations.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems<\/a>\u00a0(AUVSI<\/a>), the leading trade group for the nation\u2019s private-sector drone operators, estimated earlier this year that the commercial drone industry will create more than 100,000 jobs and generate more than $82 billion in economic impact over the next 10 years \u2014 if the government moves quickly to establish workable operating regulations and safeguards.<\/p>\n

The impending boom has raised concerns among privacy advocates about how and where drones\u00a0might be used to collect data. The\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0requiring\u00a0future test sites to develop privacy plans and make them available to the public. The policy also requires test site operators to disclose how data are\u00a0going to be obtained and used.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake about it, privacy is an extremely important issue and it is something that the public has a significant interest and concern over and we need to recognize as an industry that if we are going to take full advantage of the benefits that we are talking about for these technologies we need to be responsive to the public\u2019s concerns about privacy,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Huerta<\/a>\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Christopher Calabrese<\/a>,\u00a0American Civil Liberties Union<\/a>\u00a0legislative counsel, told The Washington Times that while the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u2019s requirement for public disclosure of data and retention policies are needed and welcome safeguards, they do not go far enough to ensure that privacy is thoroughly protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crucial that as we move forward with drone use, those procedural protections are followed by concrete restrictions on how data from drones can be used and how long it can be stored.\u00a0Congress<\/a>\u00a0must also weigh in on areas outside of the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u2019s authority, such as use by law enforcement and the\u00a0Department of Homeland Security<\/a>, which have the ability to use drones for invasive surveillance that must be kept in check,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Calabrese<\/a>\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Two new pieces of legistlation have been introduced in the\u00a0Senate<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Sen. Ed Markey<\/a>\u00a0(D-MA) and in the House by\u00a0Rep. Ted Poe<\/a>\u00a0(R-Texas) and\u00a0Rep. Zoe Lofgren<\/a>\u00a0(D-Calif.) If passed, this legislation would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before using drones to collect surveillance data on US soil. \u201cPeople are really worried about drone use. You see it in a huge number of state bills and laws and I think the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u00a0needs to understand that if they dont address privay issues then drones are not going to be a useful technology,\u201d he said. \u201cPrivacy can\u2019t be swept under the rug.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Huerta<\/a>\u00a0told reporters after his address that there was not a fast-track application process for particular agencies \u2014 such as law enforcement \u2014 looking to apply for certification to operate unmanned aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur current policy provides for any public user that would like to apply for a certificate of operation to operate unmanned aircraft within national air space, they are free to apply,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 But I wouldn\u2019t say we have a particular priority one way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Huerta<\/a>\u00a0did allude to possible exceptions for law enforcement agencies to use small unmanned aircraft systems but stressed the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u00a0was still looking into how to streamline the application process in a way that ensures safe integration into the system and said that approximately 80 law enforcement agencies already operate unmanned aircraft under special certificates of authorization.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u00a0released an integration road map and comprehensive plan on their website Thursday. Both documents lay out the steps for unmanned aircraft integration by 2015. Setting up test sites for unmanned aircraft is the next step on the path to integration, and bidding from states around the country to host the sites has been spirited.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the end of the year, we plan to choose six test sites for civil unmanned aircraft.\u00a0Congress<\/a>\u00a0required us to do so, and we need to make sure we use these sites to obtain the best data that we can,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Huerta<\/a>\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the end of the year, we plan to choose six test sites for civil unmanned aircraft.\u00a0Congress<\/a>\u00a0required us to do so, and we need to make sure we use these sites to obtain the best data that we can,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Huerta<\/a>\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u00a0has received 25 applications for test sights representing 26 states.<\/p>\n

The drone industry, which has pushed the Obama administration to speed regulations to clear the way for more commercial uses, called the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u2019s moves \u201can important step.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom advancing scientific research and responding to natural disasters to locating missing persons and helping to fight wildfires, [drones] can save time, save money, and, most importantly, save lives,\u201d said a statement by\u00a0Michael Toscano<\/a>, president and CEO of the Association for\u00a0Unmanned Vehicle Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mr. Toscano<\/a>\u00a0noted that the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u2019s announcements were better late than never as the\u00a0FAA<\/a>\u00a0has missed every deadline laid out for drone integration in the reauthorization act. However, they have had to cope with significant funding cuts from sequestration and government shutdowns. \u201cEvery day that we don\u2019t fly in national airspace, we lose between $27 to $30 million of economic revenue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Kellan Howell, The Washington Times click here for original article The chief of the\u00a0Federal Aviation Administration\u00a0predicted Thursday that U.S. airspace could be crowded with as many as\u00a07,500 commercial\u00a0drones\u00a0within the next five years, as he unveiled\u00a0a\u00a0long-awaited regulatory\u00a0blueprint\u00a0that seeks\u00a0to protect Americans\u2019 privacy while\u00a0requiring\u00a0testing\u00a0for law enforcement and private companies seeking to operate unmanned aerial vehicles. FAA\u00a0Administrator\u00a0Michael Huerta\u00a0said his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[168],"class_list":["post-2480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-drones"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/ap120124036647_s640x359.jpg?fit=341%2C359&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2482,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480\/revisions\/2482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}