• About Us
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Share a News Tip with us
Menu
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Share a News Tip with us
CyberNews logo
Newsletter
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
  • Security
  • Privacy
  • Resources
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
  • Security
  • Privacy
  • Resources
CyberNews logo

Home » News » U.S. to allow small drones to fly over people and at night

U.S. to allow small drones to fly over people and at night

by Reuters
29 December 2020
in News
0
drone

A drone, made by CyPhy Works, carries a UPS package on Children's Island off the coast of Beverly, Massachusetts, U.S. September 22, 2016, during UPS's demonstration of a drone making a commercial delivery of a package to a remote or difficult-to-access location. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

6
SHARES

Small drones will be allowed to fly over people and at night in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday, a significant step toward their use for widespread commercial deliveries.

The FAA said its long-awaited rules for the drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, will address security concerns by requiring remote identification technology in most cases to enable their identification from the ground.

Previously, small drone operations over people were limited to operations over people who were directly participating in the operation, located under a covered structure, or inside a stationary vehicle – unless operators had obtained a waiver from the FAA.

The rules will take effect 60 days after publication in the federal register in January. Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to begin producing drones with Remote ID, and operators will have an additional year to provide Remote ID.

There are other, more complicated rules that allow for operations at night and over people for larger drones in some cases.

“The new rules make way for the further integration of drones into our airspace by addressing safety and security concerns,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said. “They get us closer to the day when we will more routinely see drone operations such as the delivery of packages.”

Companies have been racing to create drone fleets to speed deliveries. The United States has over 1.7 million drone registrations and 203,000 FAA-certificated remote pilots.

For at-night operations, the FAA said drones must be equipped with anti-collision lights. The final rules allow operations over moving vehicles in some circumstances.

Remote ID is required for all drones weighing 0.55 lb (0.25 kg) or more, but is required for smaller drones under certain circumstances like flights over open-air assemblies.

The new rules eliminate requirements that drones be connected to the internet to transmit location data but do that they broadcast remote ID messages via radio frequency broadcast. Without the change, drone use could have been barred from use in areas without internet access.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International said Remote ID will function as “a digital license plate for drones … that will enable more complex operations” while operations at night and over people “are important steps towards enabling integration of drones into our national airspace.”

One change, since the rules were first proposed in 2019, requires that small drones not have any exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin. 

United Parcel Service Inc said in October 2019 that it won the government’s first full approval to operate a drone airline.

Last year, Alphabet’s Wing, a sister unit of search engine Google, was the first company to get U.S. air carrier certification for a single-pilot drone operation.

In August, Amazon.com Inc’s drone service received federal approval allowing the retailer to begin testing commercial deliveries through its drone fleet.

Walmart Inc said in September it would run a pilot project for delivery of grocery and household products through automated drones but acknowledged “it will be some time before we see millions of packages delivered via drone.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Howard Goller)

Share6TweetShareShare

Related Posts

Italy consumer association sues Apple for planned iPhone obsolescence

Italy consumer association sues Apple for planned iPhone obsolescence

25 January 2021
Makers of Sophia the robot plan mass rollout amid pandemic

Makers of Sophia the robot plan mass rollout amid pandemic

25 January 2021
Elon Musk

Elon Musk to offer $100 million prize for ‘best’ carbon capture tech

22 January 2021
Alphabet shutting Loon, which used balloon alternative to cell towers

Alphabet shutting Loon, which used balloon alternative to cell towers

22 January 2021
Next Post
Cybersecurity predictions 2021: space wars, dark side of digitalization, and post-quantum cryptography

Cybersecurity predictions 2021: space wars, dark side of digitalization, and post-quantum cryptography

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Popular News

  • 70TB of Parler users’ messages, videos, and posts leaked by security researchers

    70TB of Parler users’ messages, videos, and posts leaked by security researchers

    83034 shares
    Share 83024 Tweet 0
  • The ultimate guide to safe and anonymous online payment methods in 2021

    13 shares
    Share 13 Tweet 0
  • Facebook is tracking you: learn how to delete all Facebook data

    56 shares
    Share 56 Tweet 0
  • ProtonMail review: have we found the most secure email provider in 2021?

    69 shares
    Share 69 Tweet 0
  • Custom mechanical keyboards – 17 coolest ones we’ve ever seen

    442 shares
    Share 441 Tweet 0
Teespring data leaked on hacker forum

8+ million Teespring user records leaked on hacker forum

25 January 2021
Italy consumer association sues Apple for planned iPhone obsolescence

Italy consumer association sues Apple for planned iPhone obsolescence

25 January 2021
Google on laptop and mobile

Google vs Australia: The Battle of the Precedents

25 January 2021
Makers of Sophia the robot plan mass rollout amid pandemic

Makers of Sophia the robot plan mass rollout amid pandemic

25 January 2021
Elon Musk

Elon Musk to offer $100 million prize for ‘best’ carbon capture tech

22 January 2021
Is there life on Mars?

Is there life on Mars?

22 January 2021
Newsletter

Subscribe for security tips and CyberNews updates.

Email address is required. Provided email address is not valid. You have been successfully subscribed to our newsletter!
Categories
  • News
  • Editorial
  • Security
  • Privacy
  • Resources
  • VPNs
  • Password Managers
  • Secure Email Providers
  • Antivirus Software Reviews
Tools
  • Personal data leak checker
  • Strong password generator
About Us

We aim to provide you with the latest tech news, product reviews, and analysis that should guide you through the ever-expanding land of technology.

Careers

We are hiring.

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Share a News Tip with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Vulnerability Disclosure

© 2021 CyberNews

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Policy.

Home

News

Editorial

Security

Privacy

Resources

  • In the News
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Send Us a Tip

© 2020 CyberNews – Latest tech news, product reviews, and analyses.

Subscribe for Security Tips and CyberNews Updates
Email address is required. Provided email address is not valid. You have been successfully subscribed to our newsletter!