Sunday, March 18, 2012

Drones, safety and the FAA

GPS drone (UAS) with GoPro camera

GPS drone (UAS) with GoPro camera; Creative Commons image courtesy Don McCullough

A few recent news reports about drones have got me thinking about drone regulation. The FAA has basically banned commercial use of drones for the time being (although an NTSB administrative law judge recently cast doubt of the legality of the ban). That doesn’t seem to have deterred the feds though, who are even issuing cease and desist orders for non-commercial use. read more

Commercial use of drones now legal?

GPS drone (UAS) with GoPro camera

GPS drone (UAS) with GoPro camera; Creative Commons image courtesy Don McCullough

Well, it is for at least one person. Back in 2011, Raphael Pirker operated an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at the University of Virginia. The FAA said he couldn’t do that and levied a $10,000 fine. His attorney claimed that the “FAA’s position is based on policy statement and not an enforceable regulation.” And now a National Transportation Safetey Board (NTSB) Administrative Law Judge has agreed, saying that: read more

US drone downed by GPS spoofing?

US iran droneThe Christian Science Monitor is reporting that the US drone held by Iran may have been brought down using a known GPS spoofing exploit. According to the report, an Iranian engineer working with the captured drone claims that:

Iran guided the CIA’s "lost" stealth drone to an intact landing inside hostile territory by exploiting a navigational weakness long-known to the US military.

read more