The express mail service DHL is
scheduled to use a drone, dubbed the “parcelcopter,”
to deliver some packages of medicine today. If the company does so
successfully, it will be a
step ahead of giants like Amazon and Google, which have
generated much buzz around their projected drone delivery
plans.
Unfortunately, the U.S. is out of the loop in this exciting new
field. DHL’s test is taking place in Germany, transporting the
goods to a remote island called Juist.
From
The New York Times:
DHL said that it had worked with the German air-traffic agency
and the country’s Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
to create a restricted flight zone for the company’s drone project.
The aircraft will hover 100 feet off the ground and reach speeds of
up to 40 mph during the seven-mile journey from the mainland to
Juist.
Amazon and Google are conducting tests, but not actual
deliveries. Even though they’re American-based companies, those
trial runs are happening in Canada and Australia, respectively.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is weighing down the
industry in The Land of the Free.
Seemingly good news in the U.S. that the FAA is now allowing
half a dozen Hollywood film companies to fly drones is soured
by how much the administration abuses hobbyists and small
businesses. There’s a growing litany of airborne operations
shut down by the FAA: taco deliveries, crop dusters, wedding
photographers, and even a
charitable search and rescue team. I’ve
previously highlighted
that even Russia has drone pizza delivery services, something
prohibited in the U.S.
But the agency isn’t just playing favorites with certain
sectors, it’s flatout inept and shortsighted.
Even though the worldwide drone industry is projected to be
worth
$89 billion over the next 10 years, the administration even
shut down a
college program geared at educating the first wave of America’s
drone-related workforce.
The FAA has been issuing cease-and-desist orders, which courts
have determined
lack legal weight, but they’re still effective at scary off
potential business builders.
The agency has approved several drone testing sites throughout
the U.S., but as of yesterday, they’re still not telling testers
what the heck they’re allowed and supposed to be doing,
reports Vice‘s Jason Koebler.
Even the Department of Transportation Inspector General has
little faith in the agency. He
reported in June that the FAA “is significantly behind schedule
in meeting most of the [drone]-related provisions of the [2012] FAA
Modernization and Reform Act.” In less than a year, the FAA is
supposed to have “aircraft certification requirements, standard air
traffic procedures, [and] an adequate controller training program”
hammered out, but they haven’t made much progress yet.
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