Federal Aviation Administration will legalize commercial aerial drones

Aerial drones, whether remote controlled by human hands, or artificially programmed, have been a hot button issue since the increased interest from the private sector.

Flying drones, commonly associated with military applications, and often portrayed as a “necessary evil”, have been illegal for private enterprise applications, due to obvious safety concerns.

Flying drones are far from the typical remote controlled toy. These devices can fly for hours, and can be controlled from virtually anywhere using 3G/4G or WiFi connections, or pre-programmed using simple Arduino or similar circuitry.

Unregulated availability of drones for commercial applications can have untold consequences, both in terms of privacy, as well as physical harm.

On the other side of the spectrum, drones can be surprisingly versatile and useful. Delivery of mail, food and small packages by drone can save a company thousands of dollars a year in fuel and time.

Unmanned drones can also be useful in situations where it’s simply too dangerous for a human to be in, such as in extreme environments, or within confines where radioactive or toxic agents are present.

In a new development, the Federal Aviation Administration is exploring a path to allow businesses access to drone technology, under strictly regulated guidelines, which so far includes a maximum weight of 55 pounds.

Although the path currently being developed by the FAA will potentially allow large corporations, such as Amazon and FedEX to use unmanned aircraft, until such regulations are not made into law, the FAA will continue to go after businesses using the technology and assess steep fines to anyone caught transgressing.