The $899 PowerEgg X, launching at CES and available Tuesday, is a combination drone, handheld three-axis artificial intelligence camera and autonomous personal camera, said PowerVision Robot Friday. The multifunction device is equipped with a 4K 60-frames-per-second camcorder with a three-axis gimbal for stabilization. It’s the first consumer drone that can pick up sound, said the company, through users’ smartphone mic or a wireless earphone. Its spotlight feature remembers a subject, allowing PowerEgg X to track it when the subject moves in and out of the field of view. It can be used to take a photo, record video, track movements, and capture a group photo via gesture based on a deep-learning gesture database. PowerVision will show the device at South Hall, Booth 26415.

Drones can safely use the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands if they use spectrum access system (SAS) technology like that employed in the citizens broadband radio service band (see 1912270039), Federated told the FCC. Federated is an approved SAS administrator for CBRS. “SAS technology … readily adapts to other frequency bands and can be leveraged to maximize spectrum utilization while implementing incumbent protections and priority access regimes that address the unique characteristics of each band,” Federated said in docket 19-356, posted Friday. This sharing regime is made possible because “SAS technology is built upon a dynamic cloud-based database that ... provides real-time coordination and manages access on a protected basis for priority users while simultaneously supporting coexistence among secondary users.”

The FAA plans to seek comment on proposed rules on remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems. “With nearly 1.5 million drones and 155,000 remote pilots registered with the FAA, the ability to provide identification and location is essential to keeping drones safely separated from other aircraft operating in our airspace,” the Transportation Department said Thursday. Comment dates will come in a Federal Register notice, now expected Tuesday. “While we are still reviewing the details of the proposed remote identification rule, we are pleased that the FAA is finally moving forward with rulemaking for remote ID standards after four delays,” said Brian Wynne, CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. “We have long called for the establishment and implementation of these standards.” Drones offer “enormous potential to improve productivity and enhance safety,” said Tim Day, U.S. Chamber Technology Engagement Center senior vice president: “Remote ID will help ensure the safety and security of the airspace and enable more innovative applications and uses of unmanned aircraft systems such as package delivery and long-range surveying.” The Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Coalition welcomed the notice and said it plans to submit detailed comments. The group “strongly supports efforts to promote remote ID implementation before the final rule is in place,” said a statement.

CTIA and member companies laid down a marker on the proposed use of the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands by unmanned aerial systems, in a meeting with officials from the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology. Initial comments are due Thursday on a November FCC notice in docket 19-356. “The Commission’s flexible-use licensing approach has enabled U.S. wireless operators to seamlessly transition from 2G to 3G to 4G and now to 5G services without the need for additional rulemaking processes,” CTIA said, in a letter posted Monday. “Use of commercial spectrum for UAS should not require any changes to this wildly successful approach of allowing industry to develop and protect each entity from interference.” Drones will need “access to commercial mobile spectrum and infrastructure for both communications and control functions,” CTIA said: “While the L-Band (960-1164 MHz) and C-Band (5030-5091 MHz) will have roles in providing safe and secure UAS operations, both are limited due to propagation characteristics and existing uses, and in any event technical and service rules for the bands would take years to develop.” Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Qualcomm representatives were among those at the meeting.

The U.S. should restrict use of drones and funding for state-owned firms trying to undermine national security, Senate Republicans wrote the Transportation Department and FAA Wednesday. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee; Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Florida; John Cornyn, Texas; and Tom Cotton, Arkansas, demanded immediate restrictions on the equipment, in response to Chinese threats. “American taxpayer dollars should not fund state-controlled or state-owned firms that seek to undermine American national security and economic competitiveness,” they wrote Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson. DOT didn’t comment.

FAA should secure updated drone-related cost information and set proper user fees to help recover costs, GAO recommended Tuesday. "Develop and implement a process to ensure that information on [unmanned aircraft systems]-related costs is complete and reliable as capabilities and related regulations evolve.”

Comments are due Dec. 26, replies Jan. 27, on possible use of the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands by unmanned aerial system operations, the FCC Wireless Bureau said in a public notice Monday. It said the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires the agency, NTIA and FAA to submit to Congress a report about allowing but not requiring UAS communications on those bands.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on a waiver request by Leica Geosystems to allow its Ictos radar system on commercial drones. The system uses multiple radar modules in the 60-64 GHz for hazard detection in flight. Leica says the technology would permit an unmanned aerial vehicle to “acquire close-up views of structural exteriors that would otherwise be difficult to safely obtain,” OET said Thursday: “Leica states that the collision between a UAV and a structure that it is scanning risks damage to the UAV and to the structure, as well as injury to persons on the ground.” Comments in docket 19-350 are due 30 days after publication, replies 15 days later.

Senators introduced legislation Friday that would allow FAA temporary flight restrictions for concerts and other events at stadiums. The Stadiums Operating under New Guidance (SONG) Act from Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., would let the agency restrict airspace in the same way it does for sporting events. “We need commonsense policies to address the risk of someone crashing a drone or dropping a dangerous payload on crowds,” Markey said.

The FAA should “focus on better educating and communicating with local law enforcement” on drone investigations, GAO recommended Thursday. Because they haven’t been informed, local officials mightn't have knowledge necessary to helps, it said, citing interviews with FAA inspectors. That’s despite inspectors saying “reports from state and local law enforcement generally provide the most useful and actionable information.”