Darren QuickOctober 2, 2014Small UAV Coalition formed to promote civil and commercial use of small UAVs

The Small UAV Coalition has been formed to promote civil and commercial use of small UAVs (Photo: Shutterstock)

As is so often the case when it comes to rapidly evolving technologies, the law is struggling to keep up with the surge in popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In an attempt to pave the way for commercial, philanthropic, and civil use of small UAVs in the US and around the world, a number of players in the field have teamed up to form the Small UAV Coalition.

With 3DR, Aerialtronics, Airware, Amazon Prime, DJI Innovations, Google[x]'s Project Wing, GoPro, and Parrot as founding members, the Small UAV Coalition boasts some heavy hitters that have a vested interest in promoting the commercial and civil use of UAVs. The group is also looking to support recreational use of small UAVs for hobbyists.

To those ends, the organization's main goal is to develop an open regulatory process that ensures "safe, reliable, and timely operation of small UAVs." It is also pushing for regulatory changes to allow small UAVs to be operated beyond line-of-sight with varying degrees of autonomy.

The group classifies small UAVs as those weighing less than 55 lb (25 kg) and which typically fly at an altitude of under 400 ft (122 m) above ground level. They are also powered by rechargeable batteries and can be flown either manually via a remote control or autonomously using an automated program in the UAV.

"Small unmanned aerial vehicles will yield tremendous benefits to consumers in so many exciting and practical ways," said Michael Drobac, executive director of the Small UAV Coalition and senior advisor at Akin Gump, the Washington, DC law firm supporting the organization. "Small UAVs can be utilized for stunning aerial photography, surveying and mapping, advances in precision agriculture, consumer delivery, disaster management, journalism, and to monitor flare stacks and gas pipelines. In addition, the Small UAV Coalition will continue to support safe recreational enjoyment of UAVs for hobbyists and enthusiasts."

Drobac says the civil use of small UAVs will offer many benefits and promote US competitiveness. In addition to the FAA, the group will need to work with the FCC regarding the communications frequencies used by UAVs and the government and Congress on privacy issues.

Source: Small UAV Coalition

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小型無(wú)人機(jī)聯(lián)盟旨在推進(jìn)民用和商用小型無(wú)人機(jī)

正如通常的情況時(shí)，迅速發(fā)展的技術(shù)，法律正在努力保持在無(wú)人飛行器（UAV）人氣飆升。在試圖為商業(yè)、慈善的方式，在美國(guó)和世界各地的小型無(wú)人機(jī)民用，一些在外地球員聯(lián)手形成的小型無(wú)人機(jī)聯(lián)盟。與3DR，aerialtronics，AirWare，亞馬遜，DJI創(chuàng)新，谷歌，GoPro，鸚鵡作為創(chuàng)始成員，小型無(wú)人機(jī)聯(lián)盟擁有一些重量級(jí)人物，在促進(jìn)商業(yè)和民用無(wú)人機(jī)的既得利益。該集團(tuán)還打算支持小型無(wú)人機(jī)愛好者娛樂使用。

為了達(dá)到這些目標(biāo)，組織的主要目標(biāo)是開發(fā)一個(gè)開放的監(jiān)管程序，確保“安全、可靠、和小型無(wú)人機(jī)的及時(shí)手術(shù)?！边@也是推動(dòng)允許小型無(wú)人機(jī)是可在具有不同程度的自治的視線監(jiān)管變化。

集團(tuán)對(duì)小型無(wú)人機(jī)的重量小于55磅（25公斤），通常飛行在海拔400英尺（122米）以上的地面水平。他們也由充電電池供電，可以使用手動(dòng)通過無(wú)人機(jī)遙控或自主使用自動(dòng)程序。

”小型無(wú)人飛行器將產(chǎn)生巨大的消費(fèi)者的利益，很多令人興奮的和切實(shí)可行的方法，”米迦勒說Drobac，華盛頓Akin Gump，對(duì)小型無(wú)人機(jī)聯(lián)盟執(zhí)行主任和高級(jí)顧問，直流法律公司支持的組織?！毙⌒蜔o(wú)人機(jī)可用于驚人的航空攝影，測(cè)量和測(cè)繪，在精準(zhǔn)農(nóng)業(yè)，消費(fèi)交付，災(zāi)害管理，新聞業(yè)的進(jìn)步，并監(jiān)控火炬棧和氣體管道。此外，小型無(wú)人機(jī)的聯(lián)盟將繼續(xù)支持愛好者和發(fā)燒友的無(wú)人機(jī)安全的休閑享受?！?

Drobac說民用小型無(wú)人機(jī)將提供許多好處，提高我們的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。此外，美國(guó)聯(lián)邦航空局，該集團(tuán)將需要有關(guān)無(wú)人機(jī)和隱私問題，政府和國(guó)會(huì)批準(zhǔn)使用的通信頻率。