i3 - July/August 2017 - 37

Policy
G U E ST B LO G

Congressman Bob Gibbs: Drone
Tech Deserves a Rethink in DC

 M  

Courtesy of Amazon

any of us are accustomed to coming to the door and
saying hello to the UPS or FedEx driver dropping
off a package. The familiar rumbling of the box
truck pulling up to your home may soon be replaced with the
buzzing of a package delivery drone. Amazon's interest and
research in drone-package-delivery is well known. In fact,
representatives from the online retailer have testified in front
of Congress about federal regulations regarding the use of
unmanned aerial systems, the fancy term for drones.

potential to endanger lives and make an
emergency situation more dangerous.
Nascent industries and technologies like
drones are often driven by start-up companies. It is important that federal regulators
understand how big of an impact regulations can have on economic conditions,
burgeoning industries, and startups. These
small businesses generally do not have the
massive army of lawyers established firms
have to navigate the federal
regulatory minefield.
Drones, like so many emerging technologies, have future applicaIn 2015, the Mercatus
tions in industries we simply cannot fathom right now. Twenty
Center published a study
years ago, who could have predicted the rise and domination of
warning of the impact fedsmartphones? We will see a proliferation of commercial drone
eral regulations had on
usage in the coming years. Aside from package delivery drones
entrepreneurship. It saw a
being used in the future, drones are currently being utilized in agricorrelation between the
culture and disaster assessment and recovery efforts.
increase in regulatory activFarmers across the country are using small drones to collect data
ity and a decrease in the
on crop health, soil quality, and hydrologic information. This data
number of new small comwill help them with precision planting, increasing their yield and
Drones, like
panies created. Additionally,
being responsible stewards of the environment. Another emerging
area for drone use is in disaster relief and the insurance industry.
so many emerging it found that an increase in
regulatory activity had "no
In the immediate aftermath of tornados, hurricanes or other natural
technologies,
statistically significant effect
disasters, different types of infrastructure are being inspected before
have future
on births of large firms." This
being brought back online. Drones can make it safer for first
applications in
means that as regulations
responders and emergency personnel to inspect downed power lines,
industries
pile up and compliance costs
ensure structural safety of bridges and roads, or search for survivors.
we simply
increase, the barrier to entry
As this industry grows, the use of drones in public airspace
becomes greater and fewer
will require lawmakers and regulators to reconsider what is
cannot fathom.
entrepreneurs will open new
a twentieth century way of thinking about airspace, commercial
small businesses.
or recreational flight, and public safety considerations.
No one questions that reasonable and
Recent guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration set provisions and
responsible rules should be in place to
restrictions on unmanned aerial system operations. While some of the FAA's
ensure public safety. As new technologies
changes make sense, and provide reasonable guidance on aerial drone usage,
find new and innovative uses in the public
other aspects of the new rules may have the unintended consequences of stifling
space, federal agencies must understand
the utilization of drones in disaster assessment situations. Sophisticated drones,
that excessive or archaic regulatory burthose that can be used to inspect damage to infrastructure, are often equipped
dens can have a real negative impact on
with cameras that broadcast live back to an operator. The new FAA rules require
these new markets. As private sector innodrone operators to maintain line of sight with the drone. In recreational use, that
vation reveals new and practical applicamakes sense for someone's backyard. But when an engineer is surveying a bridge
tions for unmanned aerial systems,
for damage after an earthquake, or a technician inspects power lines in the afterCongress and the FAA must work to ensure
math of a storm, maintaining visual line of sight is not always possible.
federal regulatory policy is updated to
The FAA needs to work with Congress to craft line of sight regulations that
ensure these innovations are not stifled by
allow for responsive and responsible use of drones in emergency situations.
red tape right out of the gate.
Requiring line of sight across the board and not allowing for flexibility has the
C TA . t e c h / i 3

JULY/AUGUST 2017

37
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