UAV’s
haven’t had much use outside of military application, until recently, there are
many that are starting to realize their potential for use and are seeking to
put them to work in the public sector. The
use of UAV’s for commercial purposes has not been widely accepted by the public
and has therefore gotten off to a slow start. Many feel that the UAV’s will be used
to impede on their privacy, some have concerns that the aircraft will be able
to be hacked and used for illegal purposes. According to USA Today, however, a
big part of the reason that commercial use of UAV’s hasn’t happened is due to
safety. There have been few regulations yet concerning these aircraft but
according to Aviation Week the FAA has been using regulations concerning manned
aircraft as a basis for unmanned aircraft regulations. One of the things that
has been done to allow some use outside of the military is the restricted use
category. The FAA allows UAV’s to fly in certain, specified areas, and the
aircraft must remain under the same configuration that it is certified under,
in other words, it must do the work that it was built to do and only that work.
I believe that part of the reason that the public has not felt comfortable with the public use of these aircraft is because they are unaware of their potential. An article on Live Science compiles a list of potential uses for the UAV and part of the way through the article they mention using them to take pictures of unknowing celebrities. I believe that this would be a misuse of the aircraft's capabilities and will only instill more fear in the public, instead we need to educate the public on other UAV applications. Aeronautics is a company that develops UAV technologies and have used the UAV’s for several projects, they report using them for, Pipeline Monitoring & Oil and Gas Security, Wildfires Detection and Management, TV Broadcast relay by UAV technology, and Pollution Monitoring. While it might be taking time for them to merge into the commercial sector I believe that as we find more practical uses for the aircraft that we will see them more and as the public learn more about them their fear will subside.
While there
Commercial uav's. (2007). Retrieved from
http://www.aeronautics-sys.com/?CategoryID=259
Lallanilla, M. (2013, March 24). Cool uses for drones.
Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/28136-uses-for-drones.html
Lynch, T. (2013, september 24). Commercial drone market
stirs excitement (and worry). Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/09/24/reviewed-commercial-drones/2857355/
Warwick, G. (2013). Faa type certifies first uas for
commercial ops. Retrieved from http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_07_26_2013_p01-01-601023.xml
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ReplyDeleteThe public can put a huge damper on any new form of technology. That's a very small percentage of the population that will misuse UAV's violating the 4th Amendment. I agree with you on educating the public on what benefits UAV's will have, but once one person misuses it all the education they received will be dismissed. It's unfortunate on how society can portray a terrible image.
ReplyDeleteI believe that whether the public will accept it or not, UAV's are going to be in the future aviation and sooner or later integrated into the National aerospace. It will take time to get used to, but there are plenty of good things that you mentioned UAV's can be used for. Once laws and regulations start to be put into place, I think there will be a great deal of companies building UAV's and also companies using UAV's for business related purposes.
ReplyDeleteWith what the world has come to today, the whole idea of “privacy” posts a challenge for governments to secure and protect citizens. If an individual is not involved in any sort of illegalities, why should they be weary or bothered about the government monitoring the airwaves? I know it goes against the fundamentals set forth by the founding fathers but we do not leave in those days anymore.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, the malicious use of UAVs for stalking and the invasion of the personal space of celebrities and notable members of societies are problematic. Completely introducing UAVs into aviation certainly leaves the windows open to how and who can use it. Who’s to stop individuals like paparazzi’s and the tabloids from also using UAVs? The issue of privacy is extremely dicey because the law cannot be selectively enforced.