the rise of the personal drone
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The Rise of the Personal Drone
From the blog of Don Basile
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Every once in a while a piece of technology is released to the public that changes the world. Over the past two years a new product has been developed that seems to once again be doing just that. Introducing: the personal drone. Okay, so most of you have already heard of them. A lot of you have probably seen or even used one. But for those of us who haven’t (or maybe need a refresher) let’s take a look at what they are and what they’re capable of doing.
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Personal Drones and Their Many Uses The personal drone, also known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is essenLally the RC helicopter’s older, much more advanced brother. The basics, like the ability to fly these helicopters around using a remote control are sLll in place, however recent advances in technologies like gyros, baOeries, cameras, GPS and more have turned the old toy helicopters into something much more evolved. Out of nowhere what was once considered by many a hobbyist’s toy has now become an aerial tool!
By adding a camera and with it the capability of capturing and streaming footage, these devices can capture shots at angles that used to require thousands of dollars of equipment—and they do it for a fracLon of the cost. This has caught the aOenLon of videographers worldwide and has been used in everything from personal video to Hollywood cinema. But it doesn’t stop there. Some companies believe that drones are the future of delivery and are doing all they can to prove it. Amazon, one of the most popular online stores in the US, has announced and already begun working on their new service, “Amazon Air” where they have claimed they could deliver your purchase within 30 minutes of your order. “QUIQUi” a business based out of San Francisco, has already begun using drone delivery. Their company takes prescripLon orders and drones deliver them right to your doorstep using GPS.
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FAA RegulaLons Although lots of people are excited about personal drones, there are some basic quesLons that are being raised daily. The biggest quesLon on everyone’s mind is, are they safe? With the easy access and amount of drones being sold to consumers, what is keeping them from crashing and falling out of the sky onto someone’s head? These fears have caused the FAA (Federal AviaLon AdministraLon) to set restricLons on the devices, prohibiLng them from flying above 400`, in airports and for any and all commercial use. Even with the regulaLons against commercial use, you’ll noLce that there are sLll many cases of people using them for their business. It’s hard for the FAA to enforce these regulaLons because there are so many cases. Usually all the agency can do is send out a warning to businesses a`er geang complaints from the public. These warnings order the companies to stop the commercial operaLon of their drones or suffer more drasLc consequences.
Unhappy with these laws, thousands of personal drone owners and businesses are pushing back at the FAA trying to find a way that to uLlize drones as the tools they are. In response, the FAA has publicly recognized that there needs to be a change to their regulaLons and are working on new policies and standards in order to beOer fit to the current situaLon. In fact, they are planning to make an announcement on the subject someLme in 2015 (Sorry, nobody knows the exact date). Even with the legal snags that have emerged with the sudden rise of personal drones, we believe this new innovaLon in technology is here to stay. At some point the FAA and those who want to use drones to make money will come to an agreement, and that will be another step forward in the forever evolving technology-‐driven world we share.