Drone Users are Also Entitled to Privacey
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A remote identification system under development will protect drone users from privacy encroachments while simultaneously providing air traffic controllers and aviation authorities with enough user information to safely oversee drone traffic.
Pierce Aerospace has just secured funding for further research from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) through a program called AFWERX.
While the industry at large is desperate to finally establish an all-encompassing, cohesive and secure unmanned traffic management (UTM) system to enable aerial deliveries, the new Flight Portal ID service is focused on the privacy concerns arguably hampering the efforts to get there.
The US Federal Aviation Administration recently suggested drone IDs be displayed on the exteriors. The administration also held a meeting with Amazon, Ford, and the NYPD which specifically revolved around remote identification, according to thedreive.com.
“We’ve designed Flight Portal ID for ease of use – knowing that the general public needs to use it,” said the company’s CEO, Aaron Pierce. “At the same time, identification needs to work with police officers, air traffic control, and other drone operators.”
The service recently garnered the attention of the United Nations’ aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, for its reasonable and pragmatic solution to otherwise authoritative and off-putting alternatives.
The primary distinction here is that Flight Portal ID provides those in charge (police, air traffic controllers, military, etc.) with all the information they need to make informed decisions, and thereby protect the drone user from giving up any further information, such as “why.” In other words, you can use Flight Portal ID to identify a drone, confirm whether or not it has been authorized to operate in that particular location, but won’t know whether it’s delivering a pizza, medical supplies, or taking aerial photographs for a local newspaper.
