sUAS News: Regulatory Curveball Could Hamper Commercial Drone Regulations

Last year, (2016) was often called the year of the drone by many reporters, tech advocates and news agencies. Many small drone service companies took off the ground, mid-size businesses augmented existing services, and even corporations are now looking to get in the drone game. However, large companies haven’t quite jumped into the market with both feet… yet. That may all change in February when DJI announces a new industrial drone, the DJI Airworks program, and a strategy for exponential growth, writes sUASNews.com’s Paul Aitken. 

I have my doubts, Aitken argues, all because of a possible regulatory curve ball that could drastically slow down the drone industry.

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Many industry advocates understand that in order for the drone industry to retain exponential growth, more industries need to jump on the drone train. The roadblock to many industries’ ability to embrace this technology is that they are unable to acquire data that is precise enough to make a liability based decision. This precision is called regulatory grade data and has been previously written about by Patrick Egan. DJI is also aware of the regulatory grade data issue.

This may explain why we saw the unveiling of the Phantom 4 Pro, so quickly after the release of the phantom 4.

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The Phantom 4 Pro’s sensor comes close to providing the resolution necessary for regulatory grade data, but we’re not there yet. DJI are continuing to pursue industrial and corporate entities by unveiling DJI Airworks. This program is designed to take their aerial platforms beyond just photography and videography, and into the realm of regulatory grade data collection.

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Head on over to sUASNews.com to read Aitken’s full report on the future of commercial drone regulations in the U.S.

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