Drones May Fly Further In Coming Years

The Federal Aviation Administration is reportedly planning to announce its willingness to relax the rules barring drones from flying out of the sightline of their land-based pilots.

The announcement would be a major step forward for companies like Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, who have been hoping to develop drone technology into a cheap, efficient delivery system for customer orders.

Line-Of-Sight Rules

The FAA's commercial drone rules are very restrictive and make the effective use of the unmanned aircraft difficult for companies that want to integrate the technology into their businesses.

The current rules governing drone flights require a human operator to be able to see the aircraft at all times, severely limiting the locations in which they can be used. The line-of-sight restriction was intended to keep drones from having midair collisions with each other or manned aircrafts.

Sight Solutions

Many believe that special goggles that would allow drone pilots to have a first-person view of the drone's surroundings could be the answer to the FAA's concerns.

The goggles would give drone pilots the same vantage point they'd have from the cockpit of the plane, allowing them to look out for obstructions just as a normal pilot could.

Still, there is some concern that a drone pilot could be easily distracted by activity on the ground. The FAA may require drones flown out of view to be fitted with sensors and communication equipment that would let manually flown aircrafts know exactly what airspace they were occupying.

A Work In Progress

In any case, the FAA's willingness to relax drone rules would be a big step forward for drone makers, as well as the companies that hope to employ the aircraft.

However, most expect that even if the FAA agrees to consider amending the rule, it will still be a long time before firms can use unmanned drones safely in a large-scale capacity.