Will The Future Of UAVs See More Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Use?

Recently, there has been a lot of media coverage concerning UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technology and its potential to be used for nefarious purposes. Is this hype based on reality? The answer is ‘maybe’, but it remains to be seen. What is clear is that the potential of using drone footage for malpractice does exist and the Federal Aviation Administration is slowly beginning to acknowledge this.

First, let’s examine the way the current laws will hold the aircraft operators responsible for determining whether their planes were flown safely. Currently, all UAVs must be registered with the FAA. This enables them to be held responsible for any accidents that may transpire while the planes are in their air space. If an operator flies a UAV without complying with these regulations, he can easily be prosecuted. This makes it very difficult for anyone considering buying or using an aerial vehicle for personal use.

In addition, because the operation of UAVs has not yet been legalized, anyone operating one probably needs some sort of professional training. There are currently some challenges to how such regulations will apply to drones, and until the legislation is passed, someone who flies a drone without proper training or knowledge of how the aircraft works may find themselves in serious trouble. If one flies a UAV within areas where the operation of UAVs is illegal, they may find themselves in violation of a federal law which carries significant penalties. In the case of drone footage being used for malpractice, fines and jail time may be far greater than the monetary loss one may incur if it is discovered that they have flown the plane illegally.

Another area that is fraught with legal gray areas is the area of drone warfare. Just as with UAV registration, it is likely that there will be a need for professional drone footage investigators. It is unclear at this time what type of legislation would address the issue of drone warfare, but it is safe to say that there will need to be some type of legislative dictate as to how operators of aerial vehicles should act. Once a safe line of defense is put into place through drone footage recording and operation, it is likely that the future of warfare will see the unmanned aerial vehicles in use more.

Recently the Federal Aviation Administration released a statement saying that all UAVs must be registered and should be operated according to the guidelines laid out by the FAA. The agency also stated that all operators of UAVs must take an active role in registering their craft and ensuring that they meet all of the regulations. This represents a welcome step towards making UAVs safer for everyone. However, as we have seen, not everything is moving in the right direction. There is still a great deal of work to do on UAVs, both from the federal government and from individual companies, and drone footage will continue to play a large role in that work.

Despite the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration wants to crack down on irresponsible behavior associated with UAVs, some are not pleased with the FAA’s stance. For one, many representatives believe that the agency overstepped its legal bounds when it comes to privacy and drone footage and that this could open the door to abuse by those who may wish to misuse aerial vehicles. Secondly, the majority of the United States citizens are not yet comfortable with the idea of their privacy being invaded by aerial vehicles. Drone footage can reveal people engaged in sexual activity, however those images will not show people in intimate moments. Only the guilty will be revealed in drone footage.