Drones in Society

Exploring the strange new world of unmanned aircraft

Ron Bartsch, James Coyne, Katherine Gray

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781315409634
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Tecnologia e ingegneria
• Subtopic: Ingegneria aerospaziale

The integration of drones into society has attracted unprecedented attention throughout the world. The change, for aviation, has been described as being equally as big as the arrival of the jet engine. This book examines the issues that surround this change, for our society and the legal frameworks that preserve our way of life. Drones in Society takes the uninitiated on a journey to understand the history of drones, the present day and the potential future in order to demystify the media hype.

Written in an accessible style, Drones in Society will appeal to a broad range of interested readerships, among them students, safety regulators, government employees, airspace regulators, insurance brokers and underwriters, risk managers, lawyers, privacy groups and the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) industry generally. In a world first, this book is a light and interesting read; being both relatable and memorable while discussing complex matters of privacy, international law and the challenges ahead for us all.

1 The rise of the drone

Introduction

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Wayne Dyer

The introduction of drones into society has been described as being as significant and revolutionary as the advent of the jet engine. Some commentators go even further. It has been suggested that the drone—or unmanned aircraft as they are more commonly referred to in civilian life—is arguably the greatest aviation innovation since the Wright brothers’ Flyer back in 1903. And what is even more amazing about drones is the fact that any aircraft flying today has the ability to be flown without a pilot onboard. So are pilotless aircraft to become the horseless carriage of the twenty-first century?

Compared to the challenges that accompany the introduction of any radical new technology, such as the cell phone or the internet, the integration of unmanned aircraft into society presents even greater challenges. Managing change in the context of a highly technological and rapidly changing society has, even since the advent of the traditional piloted aircraft, been the most challenging role of governments and aviation regulators. However, with the rapid emergence of drones into society, unique issues arise that challenge existing assumptions and regulatory models.

Apart from what drones have done and continue to do for the military, they have already proven themselves as capable of conducting surveillance, patrolling borders, agricultural spraying, searching for missing persons, photography and inspection of emergency situations like bushfires, floods and cyclones. And yes, of course, delivering pizzas. Amazon has estimated that about 85 percent of what they sell online weighs less than two kilograms (5 pounds), and that the drones currently available would be more than capable of delivering your order to your doorstep.

Across all of these applications the issues of safety, privacy and ethics often become topics of debate even before the technology is deployed. While regulators and their regulations may limit the use of drones for commercial and civil purposes from a safety perspective, the major societal issues have been more related to the privacy implications of their usage. Moreover, the unmanned aircraft that seems to be causing most concern in respect to invasion of privacy are those that are being used for recreational purposes, with the remote “pilot” controllers having little or no aviation experience or exposure.

The global economic potential of the civil application of drones is astounding. A recent study estimated the worldwide market for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at over US$150 billion in 2016. Advocates are keen to point out the many and diverse range of ways that they are going to make our lives better. Gretchen West, Senior Advisor at Hogan Lovells US LLP and former Executive Vice President for the US Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) recently stated, drone technology is a tremendous tool to increase efficiencies across almost all industries. But their potential extends far beyond the domain of traditional piloted aircraft operations.

Many people seem convinced, and with good reason, that unmanned aircraft are about to take over our lives. The reality is a little more complicated. Although drone activity around the world is increasing at an exponential rate in the civilian sector, when it comes to commercial usage, many countries are struggling with how to regulate them. Consequently many states have applied strict limitations and in some instances total bans. But as was so clearly demonstrated with alcohol prohibition in the USA during the 1920s, if there is overwhelming demand for a commodity or service within society, laws and regulations become ineffective and can indeed have the opposite affect to their original purpose. Drones seem to fit squarely into this category.

For governments, corporations and individuals alike, it is suggested that a paradigm shift may be required to effectively integrate drones into society. Scary stuff—especially considering the dizzy pace at which drone technology continues to evolve. But it is not only the rapid rate of development of UAS technology that requires a recalibration of approach as to how we are to control this new invention. Rather it is the unique characteristics, capabilities and diversity of UAS applications.

If recent drone events are evidence of what the future may hold then we are only at the beginning of the consciousness of human imagination as to what drones may ultimately be capable of. And where the human imagination goes, lawyers will soon follow. Unmanned aircraft give rise to a myriad of legal issues, and all of them, like the technology, are in evolution.

Unmanned aircraft technology is evolving faster than our ability to understand how, legally and ethically, to control it. However, if we as a society cannot effectively control drones then, apart from the harm, hazards and hindrance they may unleash upon us, any positive contribution or advantages they may afford—and there are many—cannot and will not be fully realized.

For good and for bad

The technology for drones appears enticingly cheaper than piloted aircraft and therefore provides a direct cost saving. These savings and benefits also extend to the environment through reduced aircraft emissions. But the integration of drones into society might be more restricted and restrictive than first envisaged. Fundamentally, their potential cannot be fully realized unless and until they are able to share the same domestic airspace as the rest of commercial aviation.

In the past, as with any new and internationally prolific invention, societies and their governments—through their rule-making capacities—have harnessed such technologies for the betterment of society in general. Acknowledging that the sinister, evil, perverted and criminal element will always remain, so long as regulations, and our law enforcement agencies, can keep pace with the technology, the good will always outweigh the bad. Credit card fraud and other cyber crime will persist and so the regulators must remain persistent. The main problem confronting governments in respect to drones is that they “invaded” well before any effective regulatory regime was established. It’s certainly the case of the drone having literally slipped under our radar of consciousness.

Unmanned aircraft nevertheless remain divisively different from previous flying machines and other inventions. Seeing drones in their operating domain is one thing but the experience of operating this radically new and deeply strange technology is something else. According to some operators the encounter is somewhat surreal.

A drone isn’t just a tool; when you use it you see and act through it— you inhabit it. It expands the reach of your body and senses in much the same way that the Internet expands your mind. The Net extends our virtual presence; drones extend our physical presence.

(Grossman, 2013)

Unlike previous technological developments drones are more agile, accessible, affordable, adaptable and more capable of anonymity. These “five A” attributes of unmanned aircraft are confronting society and their governments throughout the world. Legislators, public interest groups and certain sectors of society are resistant to the integration of this strange, new technology. They fear, and with good reason, intrusions into their everyday life and privacy violations.

Contrasting drones with traditional manned aircraft becomes even more apparent when one considers their agility. Piloted aircraft are very much constrained by what may be considered as their natural limits. Drones have no such constraints, as they have no limitations. Just when we think we have imposed boundaries to harness the invention—technology unleashes the beast. Drones resist all possession. They are capable of a swarming, persistent low-level presence, but above all anonymously. Whereas at times traditional piloted aircraft may be considered to be a necessary inconvenience, many consider drones as an unnecessary evil. Pervasive and uncontrolled or perhaps even worse—incapable of being controlled.

As the rampant pace of drone innovation continues, together with its attributes of agility, accessibility, affordability, adaptability and anonymity, with it comes the potential for widespread abuse by users. The rate of drone developments and the commensurate potential for invasion of privacy, together with the threat to national, corporate and personal security, has understandably generated considerable public debate.

In the past the courts have been slow to react when addressing new technologies—credit cards, automatic tellers and the internet—all of which left society and the general public somewhat vulnerable through abuse and misuse of the new technology. It has been mainly left to governments and regulatory authorities to impose limits and restraints upon the technology and in some instances prohibit their use entirely. The rapid emergence of unmanned aircraft has been no exception. Governments’ modus operandi in such situations seems to be: “if we can’t control them—ban them.” But alas, the drones have escaped and there’s no putting this airborne genie back in the bottle.

The dawn of the age of the drones and the potential they hold, for good and for bad, provides a new challenge, a challenge to which the law needs to catch up. The genie cannot be constrained but the genie nevertheless needs to be controlled. At present the drone dilemma is very much a case of “unmanned and uncontrolled.”

Now we know the nature of the problem that faces society and governments throughout the world, let’s look at the phenomenal rate of proliferation of this strange new technology.

The drones have landed and multiplied

It is now trite to say that drones represent a game-changing development for the aviation industry. While it is estimated that only 2 percent of current expenditure on UAS in the world encompasses civilian UAS, that percentage is expected to increase exponentially over the next decade. But still there are more unmanned aircraft in the world today than their manned counterpart. In the US, AUVSI estimates that upon integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS), and by 2025, more than 100,000 jobs will have been directly created in the US alone and provide an economic impact of US$82 billion.

UAS are poised to become part of everyday air services operations perhaps within the next few years. Needless to say there are significant challenges that need to be addressed in order to seamlessly introduce UAS into civilian airspace. In those countries that have drone regulations, most operations are restricted in their operations to segregated airspace—clear of commercial air transportation. At present only about one-third of the 191 countries that are bound under international aviation conventions have enacted drone regulations.

Another challenging aspect of this new type of aircraft is that, since their inception, UAS have become smaller, more sophisticated and increasingly less expensive. Their application is as varied as their design. As was described earlier in this chapter, the rapid pace of UAS technological development can be directly related to what is described as its “five ‘A’ attributes” of agility, accessibility, affordability, adaptability and anonymity.

In many counties, and in particular in the US, the most apparent and immediate application of UAS has been in conducting surveillance. This fact is of little surprise considering this was the military application for which drones were originally developed. For example, the Global Hawk drone was initially developed for the US Air Force toward the end of the 1990s and was first used shortly after the terrorist attacks the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. NASA’s new Hurricane Hunters are the drones that tracked Bin Laden. Many UAS are fitted with high-resolution cameras and imaging technologies. The research and development arm of the UAS industry is likewise growing exponentially.

Currently there are hundreds of types and designs of UAS of both fixed wing and rotary variants. Drones range in size from insect-like micro-drones to large commercial aircraft. “Lethal” and “unobtrusive” micro-drones are currently being developed by the US Air Force to mimic the behavior of bugs. April 2013 saw the first commercial air transport aircraft to be operated as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS). With two persons onboard, the Jetstream 31-type aircraft flew 500 miles in the non-segregated UK airspace sharing the sky with other commercial airliners. On that day a new chapter in aviation history was written. This revolutionary flight reflects the rapidly expanding use of RPAS for civilian use and simultaneously raises several complex legal issues.

It is this diversity of aircraft design and consequent diversity of application that is raising considerable legal issues. As one commentator (Farber, 2014) suggested: “The defence and aerospace industries are propelling UAS into our lives faster than the courts and lawmakers can prepare for their ubiquitous and powerful presence.”

According to one leading international drone consultancy firm, UASi, in 2016 in the USA alone, nearly 100 companies manufactured approximately 250 different drones. Worldwide expenditure on drones was in excess of US$8 billion. In a major report released in May 2016 by PwC, the world’s largest professional services firm, the estimated market value of drone-powered solutions is in excess of US$127 billion (Mazur and Wisniewski, 2016). In the USA, it is estimated that by 2020 some 30,000 UAS will be occupying the US national airspace. Further it is predicted that in the same year US$11.4 billion will be spent per annum on UAS sales with a cumulative total of US$89 billion over the next decade. The UAS sector is expected to create 70,000 new jobs in the first three years of integration into the NAS and over 100,000 jobs by 2025.

The increase in sales of drones has been nothing short of spectacular. In 2014 Australian UAS manufacturer MultiWiiCopter told the Australian Parliament’s “Eyes in the sky” inquiry that its local client base included more than 5,000 customers, and consumer UAS vendor Parrot claimed that it has sold 500,000 units globally. Although the market for civil use currently comprises less than 2 percent of the worldwide market for unmanned aircraft, that could change over the next few years as technology advances and as legislation and regulations allow broader use of unmanned aircraft in unsegregated civilian airspace.

There is absolutely no doubt that there are significant operational and societal benefits that UAS can provide in terms of cost savings, mission diversity and potential reduction in environmental emissions in comparison to piloted aircraft operations. One area in which UAS can provide significant advantages, as compared with manned aircraft, is in the area of reconnaissance and surveillance, and this has been the major usage of drones in the US experience. UAS have the ability to be cost-effective while simultaneously improving the efficiency of law enforcement and reducing the risk to law enforcement officials.

The availability of UAS provides domestic law enforcement agencies with the opportunity to operate more efficiently by obtaining otherwise unavailable surveillance information that could potentially lead to greater and more accurate arrests. The use of facial recognition technology is highly effective from a drone vantage point—but equally controversial. In many countries, including the USA and Australia, both the federal and the State police forces have utilized UAS in hostage scenarios with positive outcomes. UAS operations also allow for advanced national security with increased border patrol and coastal surveillance capability, as well as the opportunity to conduct more sophisticated and effective emergency surveillance and search and rescue missions. Trials of drones for coastal surveillance and border security in the US and many other countries have been undertaken for the past few years.

In a disaster, drones can be quickly deployed to assess affected areas and improve situational awareness, aiding first responders in determining the most effective allocation of resources and delivery of life-saving supplies. Firefighting services are using UAS equipped with thermal imaging equipment to provide advanced intelligence in respect of the detection and spread of forest and bush fires.

Of the various categories of work potentially open to UAS, other than surveillance applications, an economic study commissioned by AUVSI suggests that precision agriculture and public safety present the most viable commercial markets, at least in the US.

What has become a popular and apt descriptor for UAS applications is that they can be used for “dull, dirty and dangerous” missions where it would be perilous to assign a human pilot for such missions. In his paper, Marshall (2007) describes the history of unmanned or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), the technological challenges facing operators of such systems, and the unique legal and regulatory issues that have arisen because of the rapid evolution of this new, but not-so-new, sector of aviation. In his own words Marshall describes the phrase as follows:

“Dull, dirty and dangerous” is a common description of the potential uses and utility of unmanned aircraft, operated as military surveillance and communications platforms, hardened weapons delivery systems, observation and interdiction assets for national security and border protection, and any number of civilian or nonmilitary applications. Scientists use them for intercepting and measuring atmospheric phenomena such as hurricanes, sampling the air quality over disaster areas, and flying through volcanic eruptions where manned aircraft would risk loss of aircraft and human life, a few of the many current and envisioned aviation missions. Any current activity in which airborne assets are deployed in a “dull” (long endurance, high altitude, fatigue-inducing), “dirty” (volcanic plumes, chemical spills) or “dangerous” (high risk, ...