Seeking A 'Field Of Dreams' For A Rising Drone Industry
In three years, the federal government is expected to open the skies for the civilian use of drones. But before that, the Federal Aviation Administration will set up six drone test sites around the country. Stiff competition to get one of the sites is anticipated — driven by hopes of attracting thousands of new jobs.
Experts like Peter Singer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, say current drone technology is where the computer was in 1980: The unmanned aerial devices have minimum functions and are mostly used by the military. But then computers got smaller, and the industry figured out endless uses for them. That's what's happening now with drones.
To prepare for the onset of drones flying over our homes, Singer says, Congress tapped the FAA to come up with regulations.
"The airspace, under the current schedule, opens up [in] 2015," he says. "And so we will see one of the most fundamental shifts in who and how you can use the airspace above us."
The FAA estimates there could be as many as 10,000 drones flying over the U.S. by the end of the decade — doing everything from cargo delivery to law enforcement to news gathering.
The way those drones communicate with air traffic control, airplanes and other drones — as well as rules about when and where they can fly — still needs to be straightened out. That's where the six test sites come in.
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