One of the major hurdles preventing the wider use of unmanned aerial vehicles in domestic airspace has been coming up with technology that automatically prevents the aircraft from colliding with aircraft and other objects.
The Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for safety in the national airspace and has kept tight controls on anyone who wishes to fly a UAV. The fear is that a drone will collide with a commercial aircraft. Key to expanding the domestic UAV market will be developing “sense-and-avoid” technology.
Many companies are tackling this problem, and claim they have the perfect solution. But that’s a bit premature, said Bruce Talbert, national airspace integration lead at the FAA’s unmanned aircraft office.
“I say to myself, ‘We haven’t defined the problem yet … How do you provide a solution for a problem that hasn’t been defined?’” he asked at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference. The FAA is currently developing standards and functional requirements for sense-and-avoid technology, he said.
The second problem that needs to be resolved is command and control. How do operators ensure that the orders sent to aircraft through the airwaves are not compromised and remain protected?
When a UAV leaves segregated airspace at altitudes higher than commercial aircraft, there are safety issues. If a UAV has to descend for an emergency, what are the procedures? These haven’t been worked out yet, Talbert said.
Ed Wolski, of the Office of Secretary of the Defense’s acquisition, technology and logistics division’s unmanned warfare office, said U.S. skies will become more crowded with remotely operated aircraft.
As of 2008, 14 military units flew UAVs from 11 U.S. locations. By 2013, that may grow to 152 units flying from 113 potential locations. Military aircraft can fly in restricted airspace — usually near air bases — but flying outside these zones requires coordination with the FAA. Most of the military’s UAVs are stationed overseas, which is also where the majority of the training takes place. That may not last forever, he noted.
“We anticipate at some point that those systems are going to come back,” Wolski said.
Congress mandated that the Defense Department and the FAA work out the UAV airspace issue together. There is now an unmanned aerial systems task force with an executive committee comprising Defense, FAA, Department of Homeland Security and NASA officials.
An aviation rulemaking committee will be addressing many of these safety issues.
The FAA also clarified rules for flying model airplanes. They hadn’t been updated since 1981. Some police agencies that wanted to use UAVs for surveillance tried to bend the old rules and fly drones without gaining FAA approval.
“The FAA certainly doesn’t want to regulate model aircraft,” Talbert said. Model aircraft are not to exceed 55 pounds or fly at an altitude of more than 400 feet. They must remain within the line of sight and not operate within three nautical miles of an airport or heliport, he said.