Tag: drone

Pardon My Drone

If we think about drones, we probably think about remote controlled assassination machines manned by the Mossad or “fly-through” tours of the homes of the rich and famous.  What we (or at least I) didn’t think about were artificially intelligent police drones that can be sent out by 911 dispatchers to the scene of the crime and follow the bad guys around until they do something they can be arrested for.  At least four U.S. cities currently use these remotely-controlled – and self-controlled – investigation tools. No more out-of-shape cops trying to climb chain link fences in hot pursuit of more fit criminals!  Hill Street Drones.

Drones use is now exploding in creativity. “Dehogifier” drones with heat sensors will tell you when wild hogs are destroying your crops. The Spotify Party Drone hovers over you in line at festivals to play your favorite songs. Russia and China are using drones disguised as birds.

Which started me thinking.  Now that smart drones have utterly transformed warfare and policing, not to mention real estate, what’s next? I have ideas:

  • Gecko Cam: GEICO Insurance customers are astounded to see their rates increase after the insurance carrier famous for its British spokeslizard deploys smart drones to watch your driving habits.  No word whether they will be disguised as pterodactyls or flying dragon lizards.  GEICO’s got you covered.
  • The Daddy Drone: Helicopter parenting is so 2000.  Just program the Daddy Drone with your daughter’s favorite haunts and voila! No need to prowl the neighborhood with your lights off or to wake up her BFF’s parents to cross-check her alibi. Integrate with Alexa or Siri and you can ground your kid from the comfort of your bed in a variety of celebrity voices!
  • Poli-Sci Fi: Did your favorite candidate just narrowly lose an election?  Are you a civic-minded soul who just wants every legal vote counted (as long as it was for your candidate)?  Well, no need to stand around all day in costume and argue with your neighbors; let your drone do the dirty work.  Available in red, white and blue.
  • Karen Camera: Are you tired of enforcing the homeowner association rules from your minivan?  Have you been assaulted by threatening bird watchers and need the proof before calling 911?  Smile, you’re on Karen Camera!
  • The Gym Rat: Who didn’t wipe down the elliptical?  Who left those wet towels all over the locker room?  You did and we can prove it.  Your gym membership just became a little more expensive.  Feel the burn.
Copyright © 2020 Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP All Rights Reserved.
For more articles on drones, visit the National Law Review Communications, Media & Internet section.

Drone Delivers Human Kidney for Transplant

Last month, a University of Maryland unmanned aerial system (UAS or drone) delivered a donor kidney to surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore for an ultimately successful transplant to a patient with kidney failure. The drone flew 2.6 miles in approximately 10 minutes.

This University of Maryland project is important to determine whether this process of delivery works; if it is a proven system of delivery, unmanned organ transport can potentially be done at much greater distances. This would minimize the need for multiple pilots and flight time and address safety issues.

The drone flight was monitored by AiRXOS Air Mobility Platform, which manages the volume, density and variety of UAS traffic data for safe operations while functioning as an apparatus for maintaining and monitoring a viable human organ.

 

Copyright © 2019 Robinson & Cole LLP. All rights reserved.
This post was written by Kathryn M. Rattigan of Robinson & Cole LLP.

FAA Rules for Drones: The Waiting is the Hardest Part

drone operations

The May edition of “Unmanned Systems” magazine printed interviews with Earl Lawrence and Marke Gibson, two administrators at the Federal Aviation Administration who are focused on drone integration.  While the FAA currently authorizes commercial drone operations on a case-by-case basis, it is anticipated that a new rule will be finalized this year and will be comprehensive enough to fulfill the public desire for commercial drone operations.

Lawrence predicted that performance-based standards, rather than weight and speed classifications, may be used in the new rule because they provide a more effective response to safety risks posed by drones. Lawrence also believed the new drone rule will require a certification for commercial drone operators.

Gibson noted that testing has revealed drone pilots are able to see other aircraft approaching at a distance of two and one half miles in daylight hours, more than the one mile estimated for operations within visual line-of-sight.  Gibson found this, and other testing data, valuable as the FAA continues its rulemaking for drones.

At least until the new rule is passed, however, commercial operators must still follow the Section 333 exemption process.  Those that wish to operate drones for business purposes must convince the FAA to issue an exemption.  The FAA requires information like the intended use of the drone; its design and operational characteristics; and how its operation will be done safely.

Neither Lawrence nor Gibson told the magazine when the new rule would actually be rolled out by the FAA.  Last Friday at a drone seminar though, Gibson hinted that the new rule may be announced this summer.  Hopefully, the waiting, not the rule itself, is the hardest part.

ARTICLE BY Jeffrey K. Phillips
© Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. All Rights Reserved.

July 4th Puts the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Drone Policy to the Test

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Dramatic videos posted over the holiday weekend show fireworks displays that were filmed from drones.  The videos are remarkable, with the drones often flying within the sweep of the exploding shells.  Burning fireworks frequently zoom past the cameras.  We found drone fireworks videos from Decatur, Ga., Lake Martin, Ala., Oak Mountain State Park, Ala., and Nashville, Tenn.  The drone operators may have been inspired by a popular YouTube video of fireworks over West Palm Beach that attracted more than 6 million views and considerable press coverage.

We expect that the videos are also causing post-holiday headaches at the FAA.  The FAA’s reaction to these videos may prove to be an early test of its recent regulatory notice interpreting its longstanding rules on model aircraft.

As we previously reported, the FAA is playing catch up on its drone rules.  For years, the agency’s regulation of drones was limited to an advisory circular from 1981 and a policy statement from 2007, neither of which provided a comprehensive set of rules.  In March, the agency lost an enforcement action against a drone operator largely because it had never adopted specific regulations for drones.

On June 23, the FAA took a substantial step forward by issuing a notice of the agency’s interpretation of its authority to regulate drones.  The notice interprets Congress’s 2012 FAA legislation, including a provision that prohibits FAA regulation of model aircraft that are flown for “hobby or recreational” purposes and that meet certain other criteria.

In a key provision of the interpretation, the FAA stated that Congress’s prohibition on regulating model aircraft does not prohibit the agency from enforcing – against drone operators – the “general rules . . . that apply to all aircraft.”  This interpretation would permit the agency, for example, to allege that the fireworks drone operators violated regulations that prohibit careless and reckless operations that endanger life or property.

Finally, for those following the FAA’s position on commercial operation of drones, the fireworks videos may present a novel issue related to compensation.  In the June 23 interpretation, the FAA reiterated its longstanding position that commercial drone operations are generally prohibited, and the agency cited the example of “photographing [an] event and selling the photos to someone else.”

Some of the fireworks videos we reviewed were preceded by advertisements, which would appear to indicate that they are part of the YouTube Partner Program, where a portion of the advertising revenue is paid to the video creator.  The FAA has traditionally adopted a very broad view of commercial operations, and it will be interesting to see whether it considers “monetized” videos to cross the line.

We expect the FAA may have something to say about these fireworks videos.

Article By:

Brian D Smith
Of:
Covington & Burling LLP