UAVs

     There are different ways that civilians can make use of UAVs. Some people use UAVs to take pictures or videos of the things they are doing or the sights they are seeing. Other people use them for fun and just like to fly the UAV. Other ways that UAVs have been used are for hurricane hunting, helping protect wildlife, and even search and rescue. “Drones can charge into the heart of a storm without risking human life and limb. That's one reason NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Northrop Grumman teamed up on a three-year, $30 million experiment to use long-range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to spy on storms as they evolve” (Handwerk, 2013). This is to help study hurricanes more and come up with some data to try to help predict the powers that hurricanes can and will have. For the wildlife protection, they help with keeping track of certain wildlife and their population using UAV which is a lot less in cost and it save times. They figure out where these animals live and can try to protect those areas from being destroyed so these wildlife species can have a home. For search and rescue, UAV can be used to help locate people who may be missing a lot faster and more efficient. “An injured victim of an automobile accident in Saskatchewan, Canada, in May 2013 may have been the first person to have his life saved by a search-and-rescue drone. A Dragan Flyer X4-ES drone with heat-sensing equipment, launched by the Mounties, found the victim before a potentially fatal night outdoors in subfreezing temperatures” (Handwerk, 2013). This was used because they could not find this person after using people on the ground and a helicopter that was using night vision. These UAVs can help cover more ground in a lot less time, but it would help to make sure whoever is flying the UAV is someone who knows how to fly one and knows the area pretty well. There are several other ways that UAVs are being used for civilian purposes. “Potential drove applications are unlimited, from law enforcement, to agriculture, construction, and infrastructure inspection. In Europe, the use of drones is increasing for several civilian purposes, including traffic management, crop monitoring, and news reporting” (Paganini, 2015).

     The FAA has proposed some regulations that people who want to use UAVs for civilian use would have to follow. “Operators can fly drones that weigh less than 55 pounds, beneath an altitude of 500 feet, outside of flight paths, not near airports and not faster than 100 mph. Most importantly, the operator has to keep their drone within line of sight” (Tucker, 2015). In addition to these, those who want to operate an UAV would have to be seventeen years or older and receive an operator certificate. For those that would like to use drones for photography, the FAA has thought about having separate rules for smaller UAVs. “The FAA has said that the agency is open to slightly different rules for micro-UAVs, drones beneath 4.4 pounds, which would allow for even greater use of drones for photography potentially beyond line of sight” (Tucker, 2015). This could increase the use of UAVs if it makes it easier for people to use these for photography reasons.

     I do see UAVs integrating into the NAS because it has become such a popular topic and I feel as if there are too many people who want to use them that the FAA cannot stop them, so they might as well try to regulate them. I think that there will be people who will be using them for business purposes such as agriculture or law enforcement or even just for personal use to take pictures or videos. I think that this could be beneficial for some businesses, but there needs to be some type of way to make sure these businesses are using them for good reasons. A lot of the issues that come into play with the UAV are the security and privacy of people or misuse especially after the UAV that crashed onto the White House property. “The principal issues that need to be urgently addressed are flight authorization, privacy and data protection control, liability, and insurance” (Paganini, 2015).  I do think these are issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible because this is for the safety of not only those who operate the UAVs, but the companies they may work for or the community itself. A big problem is that there will probably be a lot of people who may use these drones for reasons they shouldn’t or may be someone who may not know how to properly use one and causes damage to something or can get in trouble for not following regulations.

     The military has a variety of UAVs that serve a wide range of purposes. “They range from large vehicles that can carry offensive weapons to a miniature system whose components are light and compact enough to be carried in a Marine’s backpack” (Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), n.d.). These UAV help the military with “security, search and rescue, monitoring, impact and disaster management, communications, and munition” (Military UAS Applications, 2016). These UAVs help all the branches of the military because they provide ways to keep humans out of dangerous situations. There are different types of UAVs that are produced to fulfill certain needs especially in the military. Some UAVs are really small which makes it harder for other people such as the enemy to notice them. These UAVs that are used in mission are smaller and cost less money than using aircraft. If something were to happen to the UAV, it would cost less money to replace or repair than it would for an aircraft. It also would do less damage than an aircraft would if something were to go wrong and it crashes. It also wouldn’t have any humans on board during these missions, so people wouldn’t be getting killed trying to get information on other people. UAVs “provide troops with a 24-hour ‘eye in the sky,’ seven days a week. Each aircraft can stay aloft for up to 17 hours at a time, loitering over an area and sending back real-time imagery of activities on the ground” (Drones: What Are They And How Do They Work?, 2012). This can help benefit the military in many ways and protect people from actually having to do these dangerous missions.

     I did a search for UAV civilian jobs and there were a lot of jobs that came up that ranged from pilots to instructors to a systems specialist on Indeed.com. (http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Uav+Operator&start=10) One that seemed really interesting was the UAV Systems Specialist. Part of the responsibilities are “responsible for researching, analyzing, developing and documenting detailed requirements for operator, maintenance, and troubleshooting procedures, checklists, technical specifications, alert bulletins, training materials and other procedures and reports” (UAV Systems Specialist, 2016). I think that with the use of UAVs expanding, there will be many more jobs that come with this. There will be people that work in making sure that people are following regulations, people who need to take action for those that do not follow the rules, and people to issue any certification that may be required. There could also be a need for pilots for certain companies and people to train these pilots properly.

References

Drones: What Are They And How Do They Work? (2012, January 31). Retrieved from BBC News: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-10713898

Handwerk, B. (2013, December 2). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery. Retrieved from National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/

Military UAS Applications. (2016). Retrieved from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association : https://www.uavs.org/military

Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). (n.d.). Retrieved from Smithsonian National AIr and Space Museum : https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/uav/

Paganini, P. (2015, March 31). Why Civilian Drone Use Is A Risky Business. Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/03/31/why-civilian-drone-use-is-risky-business.html

Tucker, P. (2015, February 15). Here Come the Drones: FAA Announces Civilian Rules. Retrieved from Defense One: http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2015/02/here-come-drones-faa-announces-civilian-rules/105375/

UAV Systems Specialist. (2016, February 2). Retrieved from General Atomic and Affiliated Companies: https://www.ga-careers.com/job/-/-/499/1405502?apstr=%26codes%3DIIND