Current Status of UAVs
Today UAVs are being used all around the world for many different hobbies. Mainly hobbies at this point, the rest would most certainly be military related. Huffington Post gave 5 perfect examples of the many different ways drones are being used today. From shipping products to your front door from an online amazon shopping order to hunting severe hurricane weather. Because this is extremely new to the public there are many people who worry about their privacy being invaded by people who regularly use drones for areal footage."The prohibitions against invading privacy, intruding upon seclusion, publishing private facts, and stalking all might be implicated when a drone, heavily censored up, hears or sees somebody who doesn’t wish to be heard or seen." (Bennett 2014). The fact that a drone can easily be crossed into someones backyard or private area without permission calls for regulations. By dint of the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (“FMRA”), "Congress instructed the FAA to lead several other executive branch agencies in a consequential, tight-time-frame project: to devise, by no later than late 2015, rules for the safe and wider use of drones inside the United States. This was to be a technical, logistical endeavor; the statute’s drone provisions nowhere mentioned privacy". (Bennett 2015).
I do foresee UAVs integrating into NAS. They can one day become a companies way of carrying passengers for transportation. If they have already figured out ways to use drones in combat to save lives in warfare and even used for shipping items ordered online, they most definitely can and will eventually become tested to change the way we are transported. The only problem I see with this is getting people to be less afraid of flying, people already struggled to fly with human pilots in the cockpit, can you imagine what the rate of fear of flying would be if the cockpit was empty? I on't think this could cause any logistic problems unless they come across malfunctions however a good company would take all precautionary to be prepared for such a situation. “We will provide a venue in restricted airspace where they can fly their vehicles in a simulation of actual airspace,” said Garry Qualls, the project manager. (Adams 2013). I personally think if airspace is made available (which is possible) for UAVs strictly then there's a way to test drones to be able to fly passengers.
Integration of UAVs has definitely been efficient. More battery life, better fuel efficiency, smaller and lighter with better manufacturing, upgrade in stealth technology have all been part of the ways drones has changed military strategy. "Experts see a changing military market, growing use of UAVs for civil law enforcement, and a fast-growing commercial market that experts say one day either could dwarf the military or fail to materialize at all, at least for the foreseeable future in the U.S. With these factors in mind, industry experts see serveral UAV technology trends on the horizon." (Wilson 2014). Financially this can be good and bad because the technology continues to grow, ethically this is also good because you have less lives at risk and preventing them from being put in a hostile situation.
I do foresee UAVs integrating into NAS. They can one day become a companies way of carrying passengers for transportation. If they have already figured out ways to use drones in combat to save lives in warfare and even used for shipping items ordered online, they most definitely can and will eventually become tested to change the way we are transported. The only problem I see with this is getting people to be less afraid of flying, people already struggled to fly with human pilots in the cockpit, can you imagine what the rate of fear of flying would be if the cockpit was empty? I on't think this could cause any logistic problems unless they come across malfunctions however a good company would take all precautionary to be prepared for such a situation. “We will provide a venue in restricted airspace where they can fly their vehicles in a simulation of actual airspace,” said Garry Qualls, the project manager. (Adams 2013). I personally think if airspace is made available (which is possible) for UAVs strictly then there's a way to test drones to be able to fly passengers.
Integration of UAVs has definitely been efficient. More battery life, better fuel efficiency, smaller and lighter with better manufacturing, upgrade in stealth technology have all been part of the ways drones has changed military strategy. "Experts see a changing military market, growing use of UAVs for civil law enforcement, and a fast-growing commercial market that experts say one day either could dwarf the military or fail to materialize at all, at least for the foreseeable future in the U.S. With these factors in mind, industry experts see serveral UAV technology trends on the horizon." (Wilson 2014). Financially this can be good and bad because the technology continues to grow, ethically this is also good because you have less lives at risk and preventing them from being put in a hostile situation.
After searching on google and Bing for Drone or UAV related jobs, I was overwhelmed by how many were available. I found 375 jobs on indeed.com from companies like Raython and Northrup Grumman. There are many military related positions such as theres. Areal Photography is becoming big as well. Once it becomes more regulated there should be an increase in positions available.
References:
Wilson, J. (2014, July 9). The future of military unmanned aircraft. Retrieved March 9, 2016, from http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/print/volume-25/issue-7/special-report/the-future-of-military-unmanned-aircraft.html
Adams, C. (2013, August 1). Integrating UAS in the NAS. Retrieved March 9, 2016, from http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/military/Integrating-UAS-in-the-NAS_79730.html#.VuCAe5wrJhE
Handwerk, B. (2013, December 2). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery). Retrieved March 9, 2016, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/
Bennett, W. C. (2014, September). Civilian Drones, Privacy, and the Federal-State Balance. Retrieved March 9, 2016, from http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports2/2014/09/civilian-drones-and-privacy
