I loved?The Jetsons, a space-aged cartoon. Dad George drove flying cars to and from work. The family had a robot maid named Rosie, and dinner was dispensed via a machine.
We still do not quite have these imagined space-aged conveniences, but we do have drones (unmanned aerial vehicle systems/UAVs). These operate similarly to the remote control airplanes kids love.
We first heard about drones from newscasters talking about the president’s authorized unmanned airstrikes. Pilots either control them from the ground or more commonly, they follow a ?pre-programmed mission.?
I imagined they are toy-sized. But in the military, they are the size of a small plane. Who knew? But of course they could be insect-size as we’ve seen in prototypes on T.V.
There are basically two types of military drones: the kind used to gather information (reconnaissance) and surveillance. The other type is armed missile and bomb machines. They both use GPS. And there are many types of commercial drones.
The advantages of?military?drones are: no crews to be hurt or captured, they can stay up in the air up to 82 hours, and they are far cheaper than planes.
Amazon is not happy with the FAA’s (Federal Aviation Administration) stance on commercial drones. And they went to Washington, D.C. to make their opinion known.
Paul Misener, vice-president of global public policy for Amazon, let the Senate committee have it. It seems the Subcommittee on Aviation, Operations, Safety and Security is moving too slowly for the money boys. They want to get?Prime?Air drone delivery service on the road, or I should say air.
?Although the United States is catching up in permitting current commercial UAS testing, the United States remains behind in planning for future commercial UAS operations.?
Commercial drones could do everything from deliver packages or do high tower inspections.
It seems Amazon wasted its time, because the FAA instituted an?interim policy of exemptions before Misener arrived. Drones can fly anywhere within the line of sight with a few exceptions like not flying around the White House and around airports. And they must limit their height to 200 feet.
Currently, it is illegal for businesses to operate drones unless they have an exemption from the FAA.
Amazon is concerned about the unfair advantage commercial drones offer in other countries. So the huge company is testing its drones now. However the FAA has approved only one model drone for testing.
Misener said,
?We innovated so rapidly that the UAS approved last week by the FAA has become obsolete. We don’t test it anymore. We’ve moved on to more advanced designs that we already are testing abroad.?
Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said,
?This is what is hard for me to believe. The slowness at which this country is moving.?
Booker is?working on a bill?to let businesses use drones until the FAA makes up its mind. Ranking member, Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said,
?I’m not sure how long that would take.?
The Senate committee is concerned about privacy, both visual and audio. Chair Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH ) said,
?I think we can all understand that one of the primary?concerns that people have about these unmanned vehicles is privacy. UASs can significantly lower the threshold for abusive surveillance.?
Sen. Booker joked to Amazon,
?Let the records show you sufficiently sucked up to the FAA.?
Let the record show that I want the drones to be able to ?sense and avoid? running into things, like the airplane where I might be sitting.
