We have been reading about UAS’s for some time. Stories abound on how they have been used successfully to catch bad guys on the battlefield or in the course of police and border patrol interdiction operations. It was fun reading about them not least because of the comfortable feeling: they are here, sure, but not in our backyard.
Well, this is changing now and the civil liberties advocates in the US are up in arms. So what gives?
Last Monday the US Senate passed a measure requiring the FAA to give UASs extended access to civil airspace by 30 September 2015. Until now the FAA was reluctant to open the floodgates for UASs, mainly because of concerns that the sense and avoid capabilities of these unmanned aircraft were not yet mature enough to operate safely in shared airspace. They will now have to figure out how to do this anyway… You can bet that the 2015 date will not be met or if it is, it will be a fluke. No radical new system, however simple, had ever been introduced into the airspace system with a three year deadline.
But it now looks like the technical hurdles may in fact be the least of the FAA’s worries and if there is a delay, it will come from the activities of the civil liberties advocates who are diametrically opposed to allowing UASs into our backyards.
I am sure you will have seen pictures of a UAS. Most of them look like aircraft with serious fungus infections… Of course once designers are free of the shackles imposed by having to accommodate human pilots, they can give free rein to the lines as defined for best aerodynamics, stealth requirements and the James Bond stuff such vehicles are typically equipped with. Those relatively big UASs are one thing but there are versions which are about the size of a hummingbird with surveillance capabilities matching those of their bigger brothers. Those expressing concern tend to liken the ubiquitous surveillance such aircraft can provide with wholesale wiretapping of telephones and as such, a serious potential intrusion on privacy. They want to see rules enacted that would require authorities to get approval to use UASs surveillance on a case by case basis and for well defined purposes only… just like approvals for wire-tapping. For now, there is no sign of such provisions in the pipeline.
Things were not helped when it came out that the rules as they exist require that anyone wanting to fly a UAS at or above 400 feet above ground level must request FAA authorization and that several organizations, like law enforcement agencies and universities, have actually been given such authorization but their names have never been made public.
The fact of the matter is: unmanned aircraft have proven their utility and effectiveness both abroad on the battlefield and domestically in law enforcement and this is recognized by all concerned. But the idea of long-endurance, highly capable robotic aircraft buzzing above the average American’s yard sent those concerned about the potential loss of privacy into high gear. The implications are of course scary even if one believes that there are safeguards that would prevent abuse by the operators of such aircraft.
Catching the bad guys is important of course but ensuring that personal privacy, a vital element of human freedoms, is not affected is equally important. UAS operations do not have a long history and experience with operations in civilian airspace is even more limited so safety is something that needs to be looked into with care.
One thing is sure. The FAA has its task cut out for it. Privacy and safety… two areas of very complex issues to be tackled at once and only three years to do it.
Time to announce a delay?
In case you are interested to see what this technology can do, check out this video.