We previously wrote about the Drone Federalism Act introduced earlier this month, and now, another bill is seeking to regulate drones at the local level. The Drone Innovation Act, H.R. 2930, introduced by Jason Lewis of...more
While drone delivery services are certainly on the agendas are large retailers like Amazon, inmates in jails across the U.S. are already using drones to receive their own aerial contraband shipments. Through a Freedom of...more
According to recent studies and statistics, unmanned aerial systems (or drones) promise to have the most dynamic growth of any sector in the aerospace industry. With the ease of airspace regulations and operational...more
Over the past decade, since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) first permitted the use of drones for commercial and hobbyist purposes, after the 2012 directive of Congress for the FAA to come up with a “comprehensive...more
The town of Garfield, New Jersey has introduced new regulations related to hobbyist drone operation—or better yet, the non-operation of drones above residences other than your own, commercial zones, roadways, government or...more
The Drone Federalism Act of 2017, introduced by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, Mike Lee, Richard Blumenthal, and Tom Cotton, seeks to “establish a process for federal, state, local and tribal governments to work together to...more
As more drones take to the skies in Nevada, which is home to one of only six of the country’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS) Designated Test Sites, officials are trying to figure out...more
6/5/2017
/ Air Traffic Control Systems ,
Airlines ,
Airspace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
NASA ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Drone data is used in construction (3-D mapping, site surveying), agriculture (crop mapping), energy (solar and wind turbine monitoring), insurance (roof inspections), infrastructure (inspection), communications (damage...more
Amazon announced this week that its development of an air-traffic control system for its package delivery drones (and other commercial drones flying in the national airspace) has taken off –pun intended. This air-traffic...more
The commercial drone market is booming. While estimates certainly vary, many research firms say that the worldwide market value will rise from $2 billion today to over $10 million within the next 10 years. Similar to the GPS...more
By 2020, it is estimated that 7 million drones will be flying around the country delivering packages, taking photos, inspecting infrastructure or conducting search and rescue missions. However, before that happens, we will...more
A 27-year old resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jonathan Kolleh, was arrested and spent 14 hours in a holding cell last week for flying his drone in the vicinity of the National Football League (NFL) Draft. Kolleh began...more
5/15/2017
/ Airspace ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Football ,
Motion Picture Industry ,
NFL ,
Popular ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Public Safety ,
Recklessness ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 4,836 workers were killed on the job in 2015—that means, if you break it down, that more than 90 workers lost their lives each week on jobsites. These...more
5/8/2017
/ Airspace ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
Emergency Response ,
Industrial Space ,
OSHA ,
Public Safety ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury
S.B. 299, introduced by Senator Eric Koch, has passed the Indiana General Assembly, and is on its way to the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb for his final consideration. S.B. 299 would create Class A misdemeanor offenses...more
5/8/2017
/ Airspace ,
Best Practices ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
Harassment ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Safety ,
Sex Offenders ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
As we discussed in our previous post, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published over 200 airport facility maps last week to aid drone operators in safer operation and streamline the authorization process for...more
5/4/2017
/ Airports ,
Airspace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Best Practices ,
Commercial Use ,
Drones ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Public Safety ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The Police Foundation, a non-profit organization for policing across the United States, recently released a new infographic for law enforcement agencies seeking to establish a program for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS...more
On April 7, 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a Notice to Airmen (Notice) that becomes effective on April 14, 2017. The Notice prohibits the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over 133...more
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to release a set of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) facility maps on April 27, 2017. These maps will help drone operators improve their Part 107 airspace authorization requests,...more
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Northrop Grumman, and Aviation & Communication & Surveillance Systems (ACSS) recently announced a series of successful drone flights testing sense-and-avoid systems. One of the key...more
The Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) voiced its opinion on the drone privacy legislation that was recently reintroduced by U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey and U.S. Representative Peter Welch. The Drone Aircraft Privacy and...more
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a new report predicting tremendous growth over the next five years, in “nearly every aspect of air transportation” including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Specifically,...more
Last week, a Kentucky federal judge, U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, threw out the lawsuit against William H. Merideth, also known as the ‘Drone Slayer’, a drone pilot who was sued for the downing of an unmanned...more
DJI, market leader in drones and aerial systems, released a new report, “Lives Saved: A Survey of Drones in Action,” on lifesaving drone operations using data collected from around the world. DJI reports that drones have...more
Last week, Maryland’s Cecil County Sheriff’s Office used an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to recover nearly $400,000 worth of stolen construction equipment, which also led to the arrest of the culprit. The New Jersey State...more
As the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS or as they are more commonly called, drones) continues to rapidly increase as technology continues to develop, more and more industries will utilize UAS in their day-to-day...more