Breaking New Commercial Ground With Drones (Unmanned Aerial Systems)

Recent media reports have introduced to the general public the seemingly far-fetched idea that quite small, self-propelled, airborne devices, often referred to as “drones” or UAS (unmanned aerial systems), in the future could deliver packages from Amazon to its retail customers, dropping them at the customer’s doorstep. There are at least two disconnects about these stories – (i) the stories about the Amazon proposals seemed to imply this was a brand-new technology; however, very similar devices been in use for some time, and (ii) it now appears that, at least in the US, the US Government (via the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA]) seems likely to ban the devices until comprehensive regulations governing their use can be developed. As to the first point, this resident of Prince Edward County (PEC) recently hired a local entrepreneur to take a video of my 20-acre rural property using both moving, aerial shots and some conventional, interior shots, in anticipation of selling or renting the property next year. After the necessary administrative clearance was obtained from Transport Canada (so as not to interfere with flights in and around the nearby Trenton Air Base), this quite small platform, under full, hand-held radio control of its operator (not me), did an excellent job in taking the video – in order to cope with wind (an ever-present factor in the south-west of PEC), the platform is equipped with gyroscopic stabilizers. Previously, no comparable aerial shots could have been taken without using a fixed-wing aircraft or a helicopter, both of which would have been vastly more expensive and neither of which could have given the accuracy the platform provided. (And there must be many, many applications for this device not yet thought of). If any E-TIPS® reader is interested in seeing the result of my commission, send me an e-mail (i-lawmarketing@on.aibn.com) and I will be glad to send you a link to the video. As to suspension of this type of use in the US, here is a link to a quite extensive article published December 13 on a yahoo site and entitled “Despite Amazon’s Big Plans, the Feds Are Grounding the Drone Industry”. It is a remarkable story, perhaps a text-book example of how an industry sector seemingly with great commercial potential has been side-lined, with business flowing elsewhere – including, perhaps, to Canada. Summary by: Richard Potter