The FAA will soon rule on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones, which are capable of flying while its operator (pilot) is far away. While these types of drones might offer benefits to society— think of deliveries, infrastructure inspection, and precision agriculture — they also pose serious threats to our privacy. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the BVLOS industry need to meaningfully address the privacy issues that these types of operations pose to people. Do we want a future with private industry flying drones over our heads with no transparency or protections for our privacy?
What are BVLOS drones?
Drones are un-crewed aircraft that can either fly autonomously or remotely operated. Sometimes they are called unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). You have probably seen people flying small drones to take photos or videos of landscapes or events. In the last few years, drones have become very popular among hobbyists for drone racing, video, and photography. In 2016, the FAA published rules as Part 107 and later RemoteID which cover many of these small drones. However, the operator has to be within visual line of sight of the drone, that is, you need to be able to see with your own eyes where your drone is.
BVLOS is when operators are not within visual distance of the drone, allowing the drones to fly much longer distances. The pilots could be over the horizon or even on the other side of the world.
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