Robotics poised for new era as US prepares to publish drone rules

The robotics sector moves into a new era in 2016 when the US’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues its rules for the flying of drones.

The move will mean that the world’s largest market is properly open for business. But it will also mean far more. The US rules will have huge effects on other markets around the world. Other countries which lack the resources necessary to do all the checks that lie behind researching a rule book will have a reliable template to hand. And manufacturers and specialist operators based outside the US will now find it easier to sell into North America. The other side of the coin is that some countries which have benefited from the lack of US rules - such as Canada and Mexico - will now lose that competitive advantage.

The FAA rules will also have a wider reach than the UAV sector. The frameworks set for drones and driverless cars are expected to be the mould for the whole area of robotics law.

Lisa Ellman, co-head of the Hogan Lovells global UAS group expects a significant increase in activity after the final rules are published - probably in spring or summer. ‘As soon as we have certainty, we’ll see a huge amount of movement in the sector, including venture funding,’ she says.

Llewellyn Boyer-Cartwright, partner in Bahamas law firm Callenders and a former commercial airline pilot, says: ‘The FAA is a massive organisation and is world-renowned. It could be that some other jurisdictions are holding off until the FAA implements its own regulations. When the FAA does act it could make a positive impact on this new industry which is gaining a strong foothold on the world platform and which is also gaining respect and notoriety.’

The opening of the US market will be a beacon for manufacturers around the world. Hogan Lovells research shows that 70% of drones registered under the s333 exemption with the FAA are made by a Chinese manufacturer. Founded in 2006, DJI is the world’s biggest producer and is based in China’s Silicon Valley of Shenzhen.

Scotland-based Cyberhawk, a world leader in industrial inspection and surveying, does not yet operate in the US but will find it much easier to do so when the rules are in place. Founder Malcolm Connolly says: ‘In the US, the vision of the Federal Aviation Administration is very much to make the regulation very permissive. It will be a polar change. It will likely become even more permissive than the UK.’