Speaker 1: The President of the United States is trying to make
Speaker 1: it easier for drones to do a bunch of stuff
Speaker 1: that has previously been against the rules in the United States.
Speaker 1: What's going on? I'm Jonathan Strickland and this is tech
Speaker 1: Stuff Daily. Recently on tech Stuff Daily, we looked at
Speaker 1: how drone manufacturer d j I is trying to stay
Speaker 1: ahead of regulations by instituting a drone specific air traffic
Speaker 1: control system for recreational and commercial drones. Now, US President
Speaker 1: Donald Trump is looking to change up the rules that
Speaker 1: guide drone usage in the United States. He wants to
Speaker 1: make those rules less restrictive. At the heart of the
Speaker 1: matter are the rules the Federal Aviation Administration or f
Speaker 1: a A has in place for drone operation. These rules
Speaker 1: are meant to keep people safe while also allowing for
Speaker 1: the use of drones in different areas and scenarios. For example,
Speaker 1: one important rule is that the airspace around airports is
Speaker 1: absolutely restricted from drone own use. The drones could pose
Speaker 1: a hazard to aircraft pilots and passengers. That rule seems
Speaker 1: pretty simple and straightforward. Some of the other rules may
Speaker 1: seem more restrictive, particularly if you wanted to use drones
Speaker 1: to respond to emergency situations or as part of a
Speaker 1: delivery system. It's those cases that the President wants to address. Currently,
Speaker 1: it's against the rules for a drone pilot to do
Speaker 1: the following. You cannot operate a drone outside your line
Speaker 1: of sight. In other words, no matter what you are
Speaker 1: doing with the drone, you have to be able to
Speaker 1: see it at all times, unaided by other equipment. You
Speaker 1: can't fly a drone around the other side of a building,
Speaker 1: for example, because the building would break your line of sight.
Speaker 1: Some pilots may bristle at this requirement, since many drones
Speaker 1: feature cameras which could, at least in theory, allow the
Speaker 1: pilot to operate the drone using the drones point of view.
Speaker 1: As long as you remained within transmission range, you should
Speaker 1: be able to operate the vehicle safely. Another rule is
Speaker 1: that drone pilots aren't supposed to operate their drones above people.
Speaker 1: If you ever been in a crowd in the United
Speaker 1: States and seen a drone flying directly overhead, you can
Speaker 1: be assured that the drone operator was misbehaving. The f
Speaker 1: a A makes it clear that pilots aren't allowed to
Speaker 1: do that. Since the drone could cause serious injury if
Speaker 1: there were some sort of technical failure causing the drone
Speaker 1: to fall from the sky. Another big rule is that
Speaker 1: pilots are only to fly their drones during daylight hours.
Speaker 1: This is related to the line of site requirement. Nighttime
Speaker 1: flying operations are against the general rules. The President's Unmanned
Speaker 1: Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program would remove those restrictions for
Speaker 1: certain pilots, specifically pilots working for government offices or companies.
Speaker 1: The rules will still be in place for recreational drone pilots, however.
Speaker 1: Elaine Chow, the Secretary of Transportation, issued this statement regarding
Speaker 1: the decision. This program supports the President's commitment to foster
Speaker 1: technological innovation that will be a catalyst for ideas that
Speaker 1: have the potential to change our day to day lives.
Speaker 1: Drones are proving to be especially valuable in emergencies to situations,
Speaker 1: including assessing damage from natural disasters such as the recent
Speaker 1: hurricanes and the wildfires in California. Of this, there is
Speaker 1: little doubt drones allow first responders a chance to survey
Speaker 1: a scene before sending people into it, potentially reducing injury
Speaker 1: or worse in the process. Drones can also be used
Speaker 1: to look into areas that may have been compromised due
Speaker 1: to damage from fire, earthquakes, or other sources. We're seeing
Speaker 1: robots of all shapes and sizes being used in similar
Speaker 1: cases to limit human exposure to potential danger. Meanwhile, there
Speaker 1: are some big influential companies in the United States that
Speaker 1: are very much interested in making greater use of drones. Google, Amazon,
Speaker 1: and ups have all started exploring the possibility of using
Speaker 1: drones to make deliveries, for example, but restrictions on drone
Speaker 1: use create logistical problems to roll out those sorts of services.
Speaker 1: The new policy doesn't automatically grant pilot's free license to
Speaker 1: operate their drones outside of the old restrictions. Instead, private
Speaker 1: sector groups and local governments will have to join forces
Speaker 1: to create proposals for the Department of Transportations consideration. The
Speaker 1: d o T will choose at least five proposals to
Speaker 1: develop into actual pilot programs. These programs will likely last
Speaker 1: several months, and a lengthy evaluation process could follow. In
Speaker 1: other words, it may still be a year or longer
Speaker 1: before we see meaningful changes to the f a A
Speaker 1: restrictions governing drone piloting. To learn more about drones, robots,
Speaker 1: and everything else technological, subscribe to the Tech Stuff podcast.
Speaker 1: We explore tech topics in detail and get to the
Speaker 1: bottom of them, or sometimes to the top of them,
Speaker 1: depends on the shape. That's all for today. I'll see
Speaker 1: you against in