i3 - January/February 2016 - 77

Policy

BY DOUG JOHNSON

TECH POLICY
ENCOURAGING
INNOVATION-FRIENDLY
REGULATORY
GUIDANCE FOR
DRONES

Courtesy of Parrot

ake a good look at the recent holiday
shopping rush and you'll see that
consumer drones are more popular
than ever. Consumer Technology Association market research says 2015 was a
defining year for consumer drones, with
roughly 700,000 units sold-400,000 of
them purchased during the holiday season
alone. And CTA expects those sales to
grow by 63 percent in 2016.
Despite this expanding enthusiasm for
unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and the
game-changing potential they hold, the
rapid proliferation of drone-related legislation at the state and city levels threatens
to choke the still-nascent, emerging tech
category, even as we advocate for a balanced and appropriate policy framework
at the national level. Overzealous regulation will harm entrepreneurs and startups,
threaten current employment and future
job creation in this market, and throttle
the burgeoning economic potential of the
drone sector.
Misaligned and conflicting local rules
across cities and states can confuse the
public, impact hobbyists and commercial
operators alike, and undermine federal
government and industry safety initiatives
for drones. Perhaps more importantly, balkanized regulation of our national airspace
raises serious legal concerns.
Collaboration and innovation contribute to the safe integration of UAS in
the national airspace. CTA and several
other organizations-including the AMA,
AUVSI and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-continue to support the
"Know Before You Fly" consumer safety
campaign encouraging responsible use
of drones. Innovators are also taking the
lead when it comes to safety, as shown by
recent industry partnerships, making it
more accessible for drone operators to get

C TA . t e c h / i 3

real-time information about no-fly zones,
and making it easier to learn about safety
rules and guidelines prior to ownership.
This is a crucial time for public policy
concerning UAS. For the U.S. to stay competitive, and for drone-related businesses
and startups to thrive, we need regulatory
and non-regulatory solutions that support
both safety and innovation. Duplicative or
conflicting federal, state and local policies
will encumber innovators, confuse the
public and limit growth.
The drones sector is a billion dollar
technology market just waiting to take off,
but the U.S. is at risk of falling behind in
the global market because other countries
have fewer or more progressive regulations. CTA sees a dynamic domestic
market with tremendous growth potential-but only once the FAA issues rules
to allow commercial UAS operation and
incorporate continued industry and FAA
cooperation on low-risk, beyond-line-ofsight flights. The safe integration of drones

will allow for life-changing innovations
such as the rapid delivery of life-saving
diagnostics and medicine, remarkable
improvements in crop production and efficiency, and the reduction of urban traffic,
fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
As Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee
on Courts, Intellectual Property and the
Internet said last year, "Drone technology has the potential to unleash a wave of
innovation across numerous industries."
Transformative, disruptive technologies
such as drones require new thinking on
how to create and support an innovative
market whether that's a regulatory or nonregulatory approach.
With the right regulatory environment,
CTA sees the U.S. reaching one million
UAS flights per day in the next 20 years.
As an association representing many companies in the drone sector, CTA looks forward to contributing our industry insight,
expertise and recommendations to ensure
timely and innovation-friendly regulatory
guidance for the UAS sector.

Highlighting Innovation on Capitol Hill

The Innovation House continues to expand the Consumer Technology Association's
presence on Capitol Hill and serve as a hub for the technology industry in Washington. More than 45 fundraising events for members of Congress have been held since
it opened in December 2014, for members such as Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Jared
Polis (D-CO), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), and Blake Farenthold
(R-TX). More than 100
members of Congress have
visited the Innovation House.
In November, CTA member
HTC held a Demo Day featuring their latest virtual reality
products. The event brought
members of Congress and
Congressional staff in to
experience this new technolCongressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) experiences VR.
ogy first-hand.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016

http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/ http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/ http://CTA.tech/i3

i3 - January/February 2016

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