Feds give go-ahead to commercial drone use

by Ethan Baron, Bay Area News Group

6/21/16, Santa Cruz, CA – Federal regulators on Tuesday opened the skies to commercial drones, but don’t expect a package from Amazon to drop on your front porch anytime soon.

A new 624-page rule book from the Federal Aviation Administration permits smaller, lighter drones, but not the larger unmanned aerial vehicles that fly beyond the operator’s view and could be used for delivery and a host of other industrial purposes. The new rules are seen as the agency’s initial attempt to regulate the booming drone industry that has drawn the interest of tech giants such as Google, Intel and Amazon. Industry experts believe more guidelines will follow, eventually allowing the use of drones that can fly long distances and deliver packages.

“The drone industry has been waiting for clarity on commercial uses and just the use of drones in general for a while, so this is very welcome,” said Bilal Zuberi, a partner at Menlo Park venture capital firm Lux Capital who has invested in several drone companies.

Before Tuesday’s announcement, commercial drone operators needed a pilot’s license plus permits and exemptions from the FAA, while the agency developed rules to comply with a Congressional directive to give commercial drone operators expanded access to U.S. airspace.

“This is a huge development,” said Gabriel Dobbs, director of business development at Menlo Park drone maker Kespry. “It dramatically lowers the barrier to entry for companies that wanted to get started with commercial drone operations.”

Under the rules, commercial drone operators must be at least 16, be vetted by the Transportation Security Administration, and obtain a “pilot airman certificate” for small aircraft from the FAA. Drones must weigh less than 55 pounds, can’t be operated at night, can’t exceed 100 miles per hour or 400 feet of altitude or height above a structure, and can’t be flown over people not involved in the drone flight.

Just three weeks ago, San Jose drone photographer Douglas Thron, who shoots aerial photos and videos of high-end real estate, was summoned to the local FAA office. “They were starting to go after the biggest drone operators in the country, and I was one of them,” Thron said. “They just said that they had issues with some of my flights. I just said, ‘Well, have at it, but I’m not going to stop.’”

Now, with elimination of a requirement to get pre-approval for drone flights, Thron believes he and other businesspeople using the aircraft will have more freedom to work. “Hopefully, it’ll make the FAA more drone friendly,” Thron said.

However, the rule book stops short of permitting the out-of-sight operations that are crucial to broad expansion of commercial drone use and manufacturing.

“While the approved regulations are a step in the right direction for the drone industry, we still have a long way to go, specifically when it comes to long-distance, or beyond-visual-line-of-sight drones,” said Tero Heinonen, CEO of Sharper Shape in Palo Alto, which sells systems that use laser-equipped drones to inspect utility lines, oil and gas pipelines, railways, crops and forests.

The rules will benefit the “light commercial” drone industry, which mostly involves uses such as photography and videography related to weddings, real estate, inspections of cell towers, and insurance evaluations, Zuberi said.

Customers of Kespry, which sells drones and image-evaluation software and works with Google, Amazon and Intel in the lobbying group Small UAV Coalition, had already been jumping through FAA hoops to use drones for such tasks as auditing of stockpiled construction materials and inspection of roofs for hail damage in insurance claims, Dobbs said.

“We know how much companies want to use commercial drones because they’ve already been doing it despite the fact that it’s been so difficult,” Dobbs said.

The White House on Tuesday said industry estimates suggest commercial drone systems could add more than $82 billion to the economy over the next decade and create 100,000 new jobs.

“The sooner beyond-visual-sight comes on the table the sooner you’ll start to see a proliferation of drones,” said Gartner analyst Gerald Van Hoy. I understand the FAA’s hesitation and I understand the reason why they’re starting where they’re starting because if anything goes wrong everyone’s going to look at them and blame them. You do want to be cautious. The stakes are high here.”

When authorities allow drone operation without visual contact by the operator, drone delivery will take off, Van Hoy said. Businesses will be able to send goods to other businesses, and companies will be able to carry products to customers. Amazon, DHL and UPS will be making deliveries from the sky, as will pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite-Aid, Van Hoy predicted.

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www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20160621/BUSINESS/160629952