Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a bill Wednesday to establish a regulatory framework for drones. The Drone Integration and Zoning Act would preserve state, local and tribal government authority for “the designation, placement, construction, or modification of an unmanned aircraft take-off and landing zone.” The FAA “cannot feasibly or efficiently oversee millions of drones in every locality," Lee said. “The best way to ensure public safety and allow this innovative industry to thrive is to empower the people closest to the ground to make local decisions in real time.” The FAA doesn't comment on pending legislation, said a spokesperson.
UPS’ announcement it received FAA approval to operate aerial delivery drones is a “warning shot” to Amazon, said GlobalData analyst Mike Vousden Friday. UPS is “keenly aware” of Amazon’s commitment last month to buy 100,000 electric vans from EV startup Rivian, said Vousden. Initial UPS plans call for expanding drone deliveries to hospitals, but it plans to put drones to "new uses in the future," it said. Marking a “new era of parcel logistics,” UPS’ plans for coverage for the “last mile” of parcel delivery could bring fuel efficiency gains that significantly reduce its fuel costs and delivery times, said the analyst. Last year, UPS signed a deal buy 1,000 electric delivery trucks from EV maker Workhorse, which has been developing an autonomous drone delivery system built into the roofs of delivery trucks. Vousden called Workhorse’s Horsefly drone delivery system an “ideal complementary technology” to UPS’ drone fleet.
The Aerospace Industries Association briefed FCC Wireless Bureau staff on the group’s push for on NPRM on technical and operational rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems controls (see 1909120073). They covered "industry discussions, views of manufacturers that are developing systems or currently operating in this spectrum band, and why this matter is ripe to move forward,” said a filing posted Thursday in RM-11798.
FAA should publish a drone remote identification rulemaking “without further delay,” Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote Administrator Steven Dickson Thursday. The Transportation Department last week again delayed publishing its NPRM until at least December (see 1909060062). The legislators sought “clarification on FAA’s plans for any voluntary industry implementation of drone identification.” The original deadline to develop remote ID standards was July 2018. The rulemaking is a “significant part of the Department’s approach to unmanned aircraft systems and the proposed rule’s transmittal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is an important step in that process,” an FAA spokesperson said. “We look forward to continuing work to further develop regulations surrounding the use of drones.”
The Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Coalition raised concerns about the Aerospace Industries Association's June filing on a flexible regulatory framework that enables command and control operations to support drones. The coalition said AIA met with it and CTIA. “An overall concern with initiating this proceeding is that absent a clear understanding of its scope, decisions made in this proceeding could set precedent for decisions the Commission will be called upon to make in other proceedings related to UAS spectrum needs,” filed the Small UAV Coalition in RM-11798, posted Tuesday. “The Coalition was given assurances by AIA that it agreed with the concern.” AIA has emphasized throughout the rules should apply only to large drones at high altitudes, the UAV group said. The coalition disagreed with arguments the FCC needs a spectrum road map for drones. More important than a ‘roadmap’ is the Commission’s continued promotion of service and technical rules that promote flexible uses of spectrum and do not inhibit UAS operations without evidence of interference,” the coalition said. “Where specialized uses are found, spectrum rules designed to address those unique needs may be warranted.”
The Transportation Department will again delay publishing its NPRM for drone remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems until at least December (see 1906180075), the agency announced Friday. It was previously delayed until September, more than a year after the original deadline for issuing a final rule. The comment period is expected to end in February, two years after the project was launched. Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International CEO Brian Wynne expressed disappointment, saying the remote ID rule is needed for economic and societal reasons: “Remote ID is critical for ensuring airspace safety by helping law enforcement identify and distinguish authorized UAS from those that may pose a security threat. We urge the FAA to move as quickly as possible with rulemaking for remote identification to keep the skies safe for all aircraft -- both manned and unmanned.”
Echodyne got an FCC waiver of rules to allow ground-based radiolocation use of its EchoGuard radar (see 1810110029), pending the outcome of the company's rulemaking petition for rules for such secondary use of the 24.45-24.65 GHz band, said a Wireless Bureau order in Thursday's Daily Digest and on docket 17-352. The product could detect drones at prisons and stadiums, or surveil borders. The company agreed to AT&T-proposed conditions to follow the Part 87 regulatory framework and have only fixed deployments at specific locations, the bureau said. "U.S. Border Patrol and In-Q-Tel support Echodyne’s request, on the grounds that grant of a waiver would enhance security as unmanned aircraft proliferate in U.S. airspace." Such drone detection "is an important public safety function" and "facilitating the deployment of new, more effective technology to protect critical infrastructure and other sensitive areas furthers the public interest," the bureau ruled. It said FAA and the company came up with the conditions in this order. The waiver lasts five years, during which the manufacturer can sell up to 15,000 units to nonfederal users. The FAA and Echodyne didn't comment. AT&T declined to comment.
The Senate Security Subcommittee scheduled a Tuesday hearing on drone security including "mitigating supply chain risks," it said. It will examine threats and challenges from unmanned aircraft systems; detection and mitigation; legal and regulatory authorities to address such threats; and related cybersecurity concerns. Witnesses at 2:30 p.m. in 562 Dirksen are Catherine Cahill, director-Alaska Center for UAS Integration at University of Alaska-Fairbanks; Harold Shaw, Massachusetts Port Authority chief security officer; FAA Deputy Associate Administrator-Office of Security and Hazardous Materials Angela Stubblefield; Harry Wingo, Cyber Security Department chair at National Defense University; and CEO Brian Wynne of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
Most Americas are comfortable with drone use by local law enforcement (76 percent), utility and construction companies (71 percent) and educational institutions (70 percent), said a CTA survey report Thursday. A day earlier, Amazon unveiled the latest Prime Air drone design for its “future delivery system” that promises to deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds to consumers in 30 minutes or less using “unmanned aerial vehicles.” In a 2014 FAA petition to test-fly drones on its Seattle property for a package delivery service, Paul Misener, currently vice president-global innovation policy and communications, said the company believed Amazon Prime Air drones in flight “will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today, resulting in enormous benefits for consumers” (see 1407150032). Wednesday, Amazon said that could begin happening in “within months.” Its latest drone design includes advances in efficiency, stability and safety, blogged Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO-worldwide consumer. The most recent hybrid-design drone can do vertical takeoffs and landings “like a helicopter,” said Wilke, saying the machine easily transitions between vertical and airplane modes and is “fully shrouded for safety.” The aircraft is controlled with six degrees of freedom vs. the standard four, making it more stable and capable of operating in gusty wind conditions, he said. “We know customers will only feel comfortable receiving drone deliveries if they know the system is incredibly safe,” said the executive, “so we’re building a drone that isn’t just safe, but independently safe,” using artificial intelligence. Through Amazon-developed computer-vision techniques, Prime Air drones can “recognize and avoid wires as they descend into, and ascend out of, a customer’s yard,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security's publishing a fact sheet earlier this month about its abilities under the Preventing Emerging Threats Act to counter threats from unmanned aircraft systems seems aimed at deterring rogue drone operations by making the agency's authority "crystal clear and better known," the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation blogged Tuesday. It said such activities as disrupting or seizing control have been "fairly common" by federal enforcement authorities though "not ... talked about openly." It said federal law enforcement authorities remain exempt from Communications Act bars related to jamming and spoofing.