4 ms·

I don't know that we need 'restrictions' per se, but a 'drone license' sounds pretty reasonable to me, especially if the license fees are going primarily toward

by Natsu 11y ago

I don't know that we need 'restrictions' per se, but a 'drone license' sounds pretty reasonable to me, especially if the license fees are going primarily towards some kind of liability insurance.

derefr 11y ago
One of the interesting differences: autonomous drones are already pretty common. Who gets in trouble if you buy something that is essentially an "aerial roomba" to patrol your estate, and then one day it shorts out and falls on someone? I imagine the answer is, the legal owner of the device gets in trouble, and then the owner sues the manufacturer. The only problem comes when those happen to be the same entity. Renting/licensing autonomous drones that are flown-by-wire from the manufacturer's data-centre could make things much messier.
- seanp2k2 11y ago
  Yep, I'd think it'd be the owner held responsible first. IIRC robotic lawnmowers have been on the market for a few years. I've never heard of an incident off-hand, but I'd be surprised if no one has yet been injured by one, so there's probably a relevant court case out there somewhere. Anyone know how to search for something like that?
themartorana 11y ago
Do any licensing fees states charge go towards bettering the industry? I always think of ridiculous cosmetology licensing fees. Maybe someone can school me, but I doubt they go towards liability insurance.
- Natsu 11y ago
  Probably not, but there's always a first.
seanp2k2 11y ago
They already have this, it's called AMA, and I'm a member: http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/overview.aspx http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/overview.... Pretty sure it only covers you at AMA-designated sites, though, so might not help much for this use-case. That said, I'd never think to fly my relatively-small 450-class electric heli over a crowd. Then again, people would likely run screaming if I did, since they're much less tame/stable than quads, and pulling lots of pitch definitely creates the "blade thump" which you can feel in your chest even at this size (325mm blades, so ~30" blade disc).

by Natsu 11y ago

I don't know that we need 'restrictions' per se, but a 'drone license' sounds pretty reasonable to me, especially if the license fees are going primarily towards some kind of liability insurance.

derefr 11y ago

One of the interesting differences: autonomous drones are already pretty common. Who gets in trouble if you buy something that is essentially an "aerial roomba" to patrol your estate, and then one day it shorts out and falls on someone? I imagine the answer is, the legal owner of the device gets in trouble, and then the owner sues the manufacturer. The only problem comes when those happen to be the same entity. Renting/licensing autonomous drones that are flown-by-wire from the manufacturer's data-centre could make things much messier.

seanp2k2 11y ago
Yep, I'd think it'd be the owner held responsible first. IIRC robotic lawnmowers have been on the market for a few years. I've never heard of an incident off-hand, but I'd be surprised if no one has yet been injured by one, so there's probably a relevant court case out there somewhere. Anyone know how to search for something like that?

themartorana 11y ago

Do any licensing fees states charge go towards bettering the industry? I always think of ridiculous cosmetology licensing fees. Maybe someone can school me, but I doubt they go towards liability insurance.

Natsu 11y ago
Probably not, but there's always a first.

seanp2k2 11y ago

They already have this, it's called AMA, and I'm a member: http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/overview.aspx http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/overview.... Pretty sure it only covers you at AMA-designated sites, though, so might not help much for this use-case. That said, I'd never think to fly my relatively-small 450-class electric heli over a crowd. Then again, people would likely run screaming if I did, since they're much less tame/stable than quads, and pulling lots of pitch definitely creates the "blade thump" which you can feel in your chest even at this size (325mm blades, so ~30" blade disc).