Last year saw the announcement of the Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP), a project seeking to bring together regulators and industry players, allowing testing of a variety of different applications of drones.
The California Public Utilities Commission has put out a proposal authorising two pilot test programmes to legalise autonomous vehicle passenger services.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aerospace Forecast Fiscal Report 2018-2038, air travel is in a strong place and will continue to grow over the next two decades. The report examines all of American aviation, including the emerging area of unmanned aviation, trends around the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) sector and is targeted at both hobbyists and commercial operators.
In the highest profile incident involving an autonomous vehicle, one of Uber’s self-driving vehicles collided with and killed a pedestrian crossing the road in Arizona, even though the car had a safety engineer riding behind the wheel.
“Owning a drone does not a pilot make” (Morritt, 2017). Why does only answering a few questions give someone the ability to fly through the skies like piloted aircraft? The ability to obtain a Part 107 Remote Pilot License could be made more difficult and like manned aircraft have harsher penalties for violations from individuals who are not pilots.
Ford has submitted a patent application to develop autonomous police cars. It is a patent that has not yet been granted but demonstrates Ford’s intentions in how to break into the autonomous vehicle market.
Last year, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a new programme to give regulation of the drone industry a boost. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has announced the 10 state, local, and tribal governments that will participate.
One of the leading companies exploring the industry of drone deliveries, Drone Delivery Canada, has created the new post of Director of Regulatory Affairs USA. The appointment of James (Jim) Williams signals the company’s intent to bring its business south to the USA and to expand its operations.
After one of their autonomous vehicles caused the death of 49-year-old pedestrian Elaine Herzberg on 18 March, Uber has reached a settlement with her family out of court. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
In what has been a difficult time for autonomous vehicles, not helped by this recent incident involving a driver using the Tesoa Model X with the Autopilot feature. Unfortunately the driver later died in hospital, and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not been impressed by the lack of information released by Tesla.
Uber’s self-driving vehicle hit a pedestrian in Arizona, leading to her death, and the company has responded by suspending testing of its self-driving vehicles in all cities in North America.
Last year was one of the safest on record, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced at a major industry safety event. Better regulation has enhanced health and safety with greater collaboration between the FAA and the marketplace making a difference.
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is set to fully launch the long-awaited system to expedite authorisations for operating drones. It released the first prototype of the Low Altitude Authorisation and Notification Capability (LAANC) system in October and will now release the beta version across the US.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has announced that the Office of Administrative Law approved regulations governing the driverless testing and public use of autonomous vehicles on California roads. Prior to these rules, autonomous vehicles could only be tested in California with an approved driver.
Wildfires have burned for hundreds of miles in California, destroying over 1,000 structures this winter. The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) over the affected areas, with fines for violators reaching $20,000.
The US Department of Transportation has unveiled the UAS Integration Pilot Program, and it has generated significant interest in the drone industry. President Trump signed the order in November, and it has been launched by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Amazon two patents for wristbands that track the hands of its workers on 30 January 2018. Designed to provide “haptic feedback” to assist the workers, the online retailer clearly plans to move into a potentially intrusive area.
Footage emerged earlier this week of a plane being filmed from a drone hovering above. The incident took place near McCarran International Airport in Nevada. Unsurprisingly, many drone organisations have described the operator as reckless, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating.
FANUC America Corporation has introduced four new national training certifications for robotics and advanced automation manufacturing. The certifications are the first ever for robot operations, programming and integrated vision.
The SELF DRIVE (Safely Ensuring Lives Future Development and Research in Vehicle Evolution) bill has been passed by the US House of Representatives, with unusually bipartisan support. The bill lays out a basic federal framework for autonomous vehicle regulation, showing that self-driving cars have come into federal lawmakers’ attention.