Commercial use of drones for deliveries and services is set to remove a major hurdle in the US immediately after this week, with new requirements that most devices transmit a beacon with a digital license plate to ensure safety and prevent misuse.
All drones, except the smallest ones, will have to transmit a radio signal that identifies them and their location under the new Federal Aviation Administration regulations, according to a summary of the action revised by Bloomberg News.
The new regulations, which come into force 30 months after the rule becomes final, are an important basis needed before drone deliveries and other trades can take place. They mark the most significant regulatory expansion of drone capabilities since the devices first entered civilian markets about a decade ago.
The rules will be “an essential element in safely allowing more complex drone operations,” the agency said in summary.
The actions break a regulatory hurdle that has supported the growth of drone technology in the United States. The need for an identity issue addresses the concerns of federal law enforcement and internal security agencies that increasingly capable flying machines will be used for crime and terrorism.
A few years ago, the FAA had been prepared to extend drone flights over crowds in some cases and to allow them normally at night, but other agencies would not allow it to move forward with the rules until it meets growing concerns. about the incorrect use of devices. . Separate rules for operating over crowds are also expected soon.
The FAA has not commented on its plans for the new regulation. The White House Office of Management and Budget concluded the review of the regulation on Wednesday, according to him website.
It will be years before swarms of drones operated by companies such as Prime Air, Amazon.com Inc. Alphabet Inc. The wing and United Parcel Service Inc. buzz in the neighborhoods giving up 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 businesses, UPS Flight Forward said in comments to the proposal earlier this year. “If illegal and insecure 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 will require drones weighing more than 0.25 kilograms (0.25 kilograms) to transmit their identity on a low-power radio frequency, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. In this way, the police or other authorities can monitor the drones nearby.
Civilian drones offered for sale in the United States must be equipped with such technology starting 18 months after the completion of the rules, according to the summary. Operators are not allowed to take off without a functional identification signal.
The regulations also allow the modernization of existing drones with such a system.
The rule does not require devices to broadcast on a signal that can be transmitted by mobile telephony systems to a national tracking network, a measure that was originally included in a proposal. revealed last year.
Wing, Amazon and others who want to set up delivery companies have asked the FAA to allow such a national internet-based network to track devices.
Enthusiasts who pilot the devices may request exemptions that allow them to operate without an identification beacon as long as they are flown in FAA-approved restricted areas. Flight clubs such as The Model Aeronautics Academy and educational institutions may apply for such exemptions.
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The FAA, taking into account the requests of 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 identification beacon.
The FAA will maintain the confidentiality of this information, the summary said, providing it to law enforcement and national security agencies upon request. This is a departure from traditional aviation, where FAA flight tracking data is usually public.
The new rules are an attempt to address the explosion of drone use. The FAA had registered nearly 1 million recreational drone users and owned 1.3 million devices since last year. According to his data, another 385,000 commercial drones were registered at the agency.
At the same time, there was a wave of reports of devices flying dangerously near traditional airplanes and helicopters – even Air Force One – and cases where they are used for drug smuggling or terrorist attacks in other nations. The National Council for Transport Safety has they concluded that the drones were involved in several US air collisions.
Because the regulations were seen as useful to the industry, the gross concept was widely supported. However, the FAA The proposal for identification flags issued a year ago drew more than 53,000 public comments, as various constituents dueled over how it should be implemented.
Traditional enthusiasts who have been piloting aircraft models for decades, some of whom do not have electronics to support a radio beacon, have said thousands of people are worried the rules would be too restrictive.
Newer recreational users flying small helicopters have expressed concern about aircraft upgrades or the addition of new expensive requirements. Many have also raised privacy concerns about how tracking information might be used.