drones regulations |

We all know Google has this Google X technology research branch which usually comes up with crazy ideas that prove themselves worthy of international appraisal, such as the Google self – driving car for example. We all know that Google got very interested into delivery drones to fly to remote areas and service regular customers even, but it made some efforts to keep things quiet until they had something to boast about. That day has come today, as Google finally made public their Project Wing: Google delivery drones can fly for thousands and miles and they can deliver anything from food to first – aid materials.

In fact,

test flights delivering candy, water, medicine, dog treats and other items to two farmers in Queensland, Australia

proved to be so successful, Google stepped out of the closet and made public its results. But one cannot ignore the fact that Google went head – to – head with Amazon, in a business that might bring the winning racer fabulous amounts of money.

If you remember, last year, Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos announced his intentions to use flying drones to deliver the ordered goods to the customers’ doors.

Back in the day, we reported that Bezos was waiting for the FAA approval and that he was trying to bring innovation in a country that has very strict laws and regulations when it comes to commercial drones’ activity.

After Facebook lost Titan Aerospace to Google and after Amazon did everything possible to convince the FAA that drone testing was for the benefit of mankind, here comes Google again, succeeding once more.

Of course, their success will probably motivate the other tech giants interested in drone deliveries to take action and even mellow down the FAA or convince it that drones flying all over the place is not as dangerous as perceived. However, time will tell.

Back to the Google delivery drones, according to officials and people close to the project’s results reveal,

In total, 30 successful delivery flights of about 1km were made over the course of a week. Google said it selected these items “based on several conversations with local people – ranging from emergency services teams to fire crews to farmers – about how aerial delivery might help them in their jobs”.

Google spokesman Ray Gobberg said it was too soon to discuss specific business plans for the delivery drones, but the company said on its website that self-flying vehicles could offer a cheaper, faster and less wasteful way to move goods.

If analysts’ predictions become true, and they probably will, in the next few years we will see the tech behemoths’ battlefront placed in the e – commerce and fast deliveries market. With Google and Amazon confronting directly, there are going to be interesting times. And if Bezos is right, at some point in the future, seeing drones hovering above us is going to be perceived as normal as walking your dog.

Everybody talks about drones lately and people’s opinions about them range from paranoia to amusement.

A lot of tech titans invested in drone technology, a lot of drone manufacturers came up with new models sporting spectacular features and a lot of people buy drones as the ultimate hi – tech toys that they are.

We recently told you about Parrot’s mini – drones and we discussed several times about the commercial drones or the utilitarian ones.

But no matter how excited you are to have your own flying buzzard and no matter how scared you are to not fall the victim of the Big Brother With Lethal Weapon type of drone, the facts are clear and simple: drones laws and regulations are in the pocket of the Federal Aviation Administration and the institution doesn’t hurry up in legalizing them.

There are a lot of documented cases involving the FAA’s ban of drones use and fining the users, but there is little progress in designing a legal framework for people and companies to actually use drones to their full (peaceful) potential in the United States. According to the FAA, quoted by tech columnists,

Drones are aircraft, and for commercial use an aircraft must be certified and under the control of a certified pilot. That’s even if the drone flies no higher than 400 feet, the ceiling of the uncontrolled altitude the FAA calls “Class G airspace.”

On the other hand, time is ticking away, as by September 30, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration has to liberalize drones restrictions, as it was decided by the Congress two years ago.

The basic problem related to the drones is that many people can actually get their hands on them at affordable prices and use them less for the greater good of mankind. The invasion of privacy and the annoyance the drones can produce if manipulated with nefarious purposes is the biggest fear of everybody.

While drone manufacturers and companies using the buzzards for commercial, rescue or documentation purposes all swear to respect the drones laws and regulations, individuals may push things to unthinkable results. It is enough that we are already witnessing social tensions related to the Google Glass wearers.

On the other hand, the use of drones in remote and dangerous places proved its worth a dozen times by now, so the question is how will the FAA write the drone laws in order to please everybody?

We have to give credit to Rob Pegoraro, a tech journalist that made a very smart point:

The FAA can and should write some basic rules for commercial drone use, and it shouldn’t hesitate to make an example out of people who act like idiots. But we’re talking about things you can buy for $100 on the Internet. At some point, we may just have to count on most people not acting like idiots.

Project Wing Is Working: Google Delivery Drones Unveiled

Drones Laws and Regulations Are Still In the Hands of the FAA