Regulatory
Regulatory
Sec. Chao releases version 4.0 of federal AV guidelines
Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced the fourth iteration of the federal automated vehicle policy during a keynote speech at CES 2020.
Named Automated Vehicles 4.0: Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies, the guidance streamlines federal guidance for 38 government agencies, departments, commissions and others, Chao said, and is aimed at maintaining highway safety while allowing development on AVs to flourish.
"The takeaway from AV 4.0 is that the federal government is all in for safer, better and more inclusive transportation, aided by automated driving systems," she said.
Industry now responding to proposed remote ID rule for drones
The Federal Aviation Administration's proposed rule for the remote identification of drones has now been printed in the Federal Register, giving interested parties 60 days to respond.
AUVSI is reviewing the rules and will be responding, but in the meantime President and CEO Brian Wynne said he welcomes the move.
“The importance of remote ID regulations cannot be overstated, as they are necessary to enable advanced and expanded operations such as flights over people and beyond line of sight," Wynne said.
Task force on drone incursions at airports calls for coordination, federal funding
The Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports, commissioned by AUVSI and the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), released its final report today and recommended that federal governments should work with airports to fight drone incursions and get additional funding to help accomplish that.
The task force also says there is an "urgent need" for the Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada to establish drone detection standards and that local law enforcement has a role to play, beginning with a pilot program to demonstrate how that would work.
Speakers highlight importance of Remote ID rulemaking, safe operations during Hill Day
One of the biggest topics of discussion during AUVSI’s annual Hill Day on Wednesday, Sept. 25 was remote identification and the progress, or lack thereof, on this rulemaking.
“This is one issue we’re not going to let up on,” said Rep. Daniel Lipinski.
Like many in the UAS community, Lipinski, who co-chairs the House UAS Caucus, believes the FAA is moving too slow on the rules for remote ID. These sentiments were echoed by Rep. Sam Graves, the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“I think that has a lot to do with the simple fact that I don’t think they really know which direction they’re going,” Graves said.
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: FAA developing a menu of new rules to oversee the booming unmanned aviation sector
The FAA’s efforts to oversee commercial and recreational unmanned aircraft systems seem to be growing almost as quickly as the industry itself.
With more than 1.4 million UAS now registered with the FAA, a statistic that did not even exist until a few years ago, the agency is pursuing several regulatory and other initiatives to manage the increasing traffic to ensure safe and efficient operations.
“This is a fast-moving industry, and we’re doing our level best to keep up,” then-acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said in a June speech. “The trick is to mitigate safety risks without putting the cuffs on technological and operational advances.”
From Unmanned Systems Magazine: Regulators seek to promote the AV industry, boost safety, protect spectrum
Automotive industry regulators, in the United States in particular, are seeking to remove regulatory restrictions on the development and testing of autonomous vehicles without compromising job No. 1 — safety.
"There is widespread recognition that automated vehicles will coexist with conventional vehicles and ad some point operate side-by-side with them on the highways," said Nicole Nason, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), one of several government speakers at the Automated Vehicles Symposium held in Orlando in July.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET, AUVSI Hill Day: Event Preview
Every day, members of Congress work on legislation that can either boost or hinder the advancement and deployment of unmanned and autonomous systems. AUVSI Hill Day, being held Wednesday, September 25, is an opportunity for the entire industry to come together and declare, with one unified voice, how unmanned technology is making a positive impact on local communities and economies across the country. Join members of the AUVSI Advocacy team as they give a preview of the event, set expectations for the day, and provide talking points to ensure participants maximize their meetings with lawmakers.
Who Should Attend?
2nd annual NY UAS Symposium to highlight issues facing industry, importance of UTM
The second annual New York UAS Symposium, hosted by Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR), will look to build off of a successful 2018 symposium that brought in more than 300 participants.
This year’s symposium will give attendees a chance to talk with fellow UAS industry leaders representing all sides of the industry — including from the FAA, NASA, and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), to name a few — make new connections, and discuss key issues that the industry is facing.
According to Michael Hertzendorf, interim CEO for NUAIR Alliance, the number one challenge that the industry faces is public adoption.
