UAVs make a difference in the world and regulators help – TechCrunch

About two months ago, in the middle of the night, a small, specially designed unmanned aerial vehicle, a drone, was carrying a valuable cargo 300 feet above sea level and at a speed of 22 miles. Time between West Baltimore and the Medical Center of the University of Maryland, trip about 5 minutes. They called it: "A little jump for a drone; a major leap for medicine. "

The cargo was a human kidney, and waiting for this kidney at the hospital was a patient whose life would be improved.

"All this is incredible," said the recipient, 44, to the engineering and medical teams at the University of Maryland who designed the drone and smart container. The Angel Flight has followed more than two years of research, development, and testing by Maryland's aerospace and medical teams, as well as close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). .

The kidney could have been delivered to the hospital in many other ways, but proving it with a drone opens the way for longer flights that will ultimately reduce costs and reduce the time needed to the administration of an organ. And speed is life in this case – experts say that the time it takes to move an organ through traditional means is now a major issue.

This is an example of how small drones are already changing the landscape of our economy and society. Our task at the Department of Transport (DOT), through the FAA, is to integrate these vehicles safely into the national airspace system.

Hurry up. The ministry has been recording drones for less than four years and there are already four times as many drones – 1.5 million – registered as piloted aircraft. This week in Baltimore, more than 1,000 members of the drone community gather to discuss the latest issues in this fast-growing sector as part of the fourth annual FAA UAS symposium, which the department is co-organizing with the United States. Association for unmanned aircraft systems. .

In addition to public awareness, the Department also participates in demonstration projects, including the pilot program of integration (IPP). Established by this Administration in 2017, the PPI allows the FAA to collaborate with US state, local and tribal governments to gain the necessary experience in developing regulations, policies and practices. and guidelines for the safe integration of UAVs, including addressing difficult topics such as security and privacy. . The experience gained and the data collected will help ensure that the United States remains the world leader in the secure integration of UAS and fully realizes the economic and societal benefits of this technology.

Some examples of IPP show the ingenuity of the UAV community.

In San Diego, the Chula Vista Police Service and CAPE, a private UAS teloperation company, use drones as first responders to potentially save officers' lives and make the service more efficient. Since October, they have launched the first responders of the drone in more than 400 calls during which 59 arrests were made. For half of these calls, the drone was the first on the scene with an average response time of 100 seconds on the scene. It is just as important to note that 60 times that having the drone out there has eliminated the need to send officers.

Recently, following an IPP project, the FAA granted the first air carrier certification to Wing Aviation of Alphabet Inc. a commercial drone operator who will deliver parcels in rural Blacksburg, Virginia.

What will happen next is that the FAA will gradually introduce new rules to indicate when and how these operators can operate safely. To handle all the expected traffic, the FAA is collaborating with NASA and the industry on a highly automated UAS Traffic Management (UTM) concept.

Ultimately, drones will help communities like Baltimore – and other cities in the country – save lives and provide new services. DOT and the FAA will help ensure that everything is done safely and that public concerns about privacy and security are taken into account.