Wednesday, March 4, 2015

UAVs

UAVs are a very controversial subject in the United States. They are generally associated with the military but are now being used by the civilian population. Civilians are new to this field and are still experimenting with the safety of UAVs. They are being used to monitor weather, make 3-D maps, protect wildlife, search and rescue, and even to take care of farms. The FAA has numerous regulations in place for civilian flyers. Operators must keep unmanned aircraft in their sight, fly no higher than 400 feet, and stay well clear of manned aircraft just to name a few.

              It seems inevitable that UAVs will integrate into our National Airspace System. Entrepreneurs will explore this route and exploit its commercial viability. They will first need to overcome the FAA and also the perception of the general public. The safety and reliability of UAVs in adverse weather conditions is an apparent hurdle that will have to be cleared by these groups. Once the industry overcomes that they will need to go on a strong public relations campaign. Humans don’t want drones flying overhead because that will give an eerie feeling of a big brother. There will be an outcry that drones will leave nearly no privacy for the entire population. The people, and particularly myself, have lost trust in the government to protect our privacy. The chief reason being the government violates that trust more than any other entity.

              The military is currently the largest user of drones. Drones are very practical and much more efficient, when used properly. By using an unmanned aircraft, there is no inherent danger when carrying out missions. This allows a trained soldier that could be thousands of miles away to coordinate exactly what the drone will do. The U.S. military spends billions on these drone projects.


Sources
Facts | Know Before You Fly. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/facts/

Handwerk, B. (2013, June 6). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Pizza Delivery). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130606-drone-uav-surveillance-unmanned-domicopter-flight-civilian-helicopter/

Search for Jobs. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://jobs.uavjobbank.com/a/jobs/list/


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