Commercial Drone Use: U.S. Lags Behind
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As the United States continues to explore regulations and safety guidelines for commercial UAVs, other countries have already adopted their use.
For twenty years, Yamaha Motor Company has been offering its RMAX helicopter drones to Japanese farmers and agribusinesses for spraying crops. The radio-controlled drones typically weigh less than 140 pounds, are cheaper than deploying a plane, and are more accurate in applying fertilizers and pesticides.
Zookal, a Sydney-based company, plans to deliver books to college students via drones later this year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is testing the delivery of government documents like driver’s licenses and permits using small drones. Energy companies in the United Kingdom are using drones to check the undersides of oil platforms for corrosion and repairs.
iHLS – Israel Homeland Security
ABC News reports that in the United States, however, when Lakemaid Beer tried to use a drone to deliver six-packs to ice fishermen on a frozen lake in Minnesota, the FAA grounded the drones.
Photographers, real estate agents, filmmakers, and news agencies in the United States want to use drones in their operations, but the FAA insists that rules addressing safety challenges associated with drones need to be in place before drones can share the sky with manned aircrafts.
ABC News notes that the FAA has worked on regulations for the past decade and may still be years away from issuing final rules for small drones; rules for larger drones, those weighing more than fifty-five pounds, will take longer to compile.
