[ ABOVE: Furman University physics professor John Conrad pilots one of the school’s quad-copter drones. See Furman’s drone video “Tracking Lights.” ]
Drones are all over the news lately. Amazon and Google want to use them to deliver packages, pizza delivery restaurants are testing out pies-in-the-sky delivery scenarios, farmers are using them to check on livestock and crops more easily, and police departments in other cities are starting to use unmanned aerial vehicles (AUV) to get a sneak peek inside potential hostage and dangerous situations.
Advances in camera and video technology along with declining prices have put AUVs within reach for a lot of people. But what are the laws surrounding drones? Who can and can’t use them? And what about privacy concerns?
FAA rules
The category for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), a.k.a. drones, is broad, including anything from small quad copters that hobbyists may purchase to military-style unmanned aircraft.
Federal Aviation Administration rules say a UAS cannot be used for commercial purposes unless a special permit is granted. But the rules are different if you’re not planning on making money. According to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, drone usage doesn’t require FAA approval as long as the aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use within sight of the operator. The law also states that UAS must be flown below 400 feet and cannot be launched within five miles of an airport, unless the operator of the aircraft notifies the airport operator and control tower beforehand.
FAA spokesman Les Dorr said the FAA has been working since early 2014 to revise the law to “expand the commercial use of UAS in certain tightly controlled, low-risk situations.” Dorr said companies must apply for airworthiness and operational exemptions.
These proposed changes to the existing rules could possibly mandate that drone operators have pilot licenses and limit flights to daytime hours, below 400 feet and within sight of the person at the controls.
As of early January 2015, the FAA had received 214 petitions from companies in industries such as filmmaking, pipeline inspection, aerial surveying, precision agriculture, stack inspections and real estate. “We have granted 14 requests, and we continue to evaluate the applications in the order they were submitted,” said Dorr.
There is no ETA on when the new rules will be released, he said.
Commercial applications
The new federal rules would likely preclude delivery drones under development by Amazon and Google and make some other potential drone uses too expensive for small businesses, the Wall Street Journal has reported. The changes would erode the value of operating unmanned aircraft for many businesses, particularly small ones, drone makers and users warned. Requiring that users only fly drones within their view would effectively prohibit many commercial applications, including pipeline inspections, large-scale crop monitoring and deliveries, they said.
“In places all over the world, except the U.S., people are making money hand over fist selling services such as real estate mapping, smart agriculture and pipeline overflights,” said John Conrad, a physics professor at Furman University who purchased the university’s first drone two years ago and now has a fleet available for him and his students to use.
“I can fly these drones pretty much anywhere I want under [FAA] guidelines with full immunity, until I charge you a nickel for it. Then I’m breaking the law,” he said. “That’s what’s stifling the development of manufacturing of these drones in America.”
But drones are readily available, made in places like China and France, and at less than $1,000 for a good, mid-grade drone. Consequently, hobbyists, photographers and others are purchasing drones for their own use and to gear up for possible commercial applications.
Travis Runion, who owns Captured Video Production in Greenville, said he bought his first drone in February 2014 and was hooked. “It was a great merge of flying and aviation and then my photography and video,” said Runion, who also has a pilot’s license.
Runion said the drones are equipped with a compass, gyroscope and GPS. “They’re very easy to fly and you’re not really nervous about crashing.” He said he doubts privacy concerns will be a huge issue going forward as the cameras on the drones are at a pretty wide angle.
“It’s not much different than with people using Google Earth or Google Street View. You’re not going to get any more detailed than that,” he said.
Runion said he and other professional photographers treat drone safety as a matter of common sense. “I’m not going to fly next to an airport. It’s essentially a tripod for my camera that flies, so I treat the rules and etiquette the same.”
The biggest interest he’s seen so far has been from builders and real estate professionals wanting aerial video and photography. He’s quick to add that he isn’t using his drone for any commercial projects. “I’m just waiting on the FAA to give us permission,” he said. “I don’t want to risk anything I’m doing now for early exposure.”
Other uses
While the commercial application of drones is very much in the hands of the FAA, Runion sees future drone use for individuals leaning heavily to recreational and adventure sports. He said companies are working on drone technology that will allow a drone to follow you while skiing downhill or surfing a wave.
Police departments in some areas of the country are also experimenting with drone usage, but there are no plans yet to use them here. Both the Greenville Police Department and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office have said they don’t currently own drones nor do they have plans to use them in the near future.
Taylor de Lench, assistant director of Web marketing for Furman, has been making use of the school’s drones, producing a video last year that showed overflights by drones in underserved Greenville County communities such as Poe Mill and New Washington Heights. The investigators for the project used drone technology to assess street lighting in an effort to help stem crime in the neighborhoods.
