U.S. Announces Task Force to Develop Drone Registry

[Canon Rumors]

<p>From Reuters:</p>
<p>Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:32pm EDT – The Obama administration, faced with rising safety and security risks from a surge in unauthorized drone flights, announced a new task force on Monday to develop a new federal register for the owners of unmanned aerial systems.</p>
<p>The task force of both private sector and government officials is charged with recommending by Nov 20 a process for drone registration that federal authorities hope to have in place before the Christmas holiday, when more than 1 million drones are expected to be purchased by consumers.</p>
<p>“We’re going to require operators of drones to register their aircraft,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at a news conference.</p>
<p>The registry would apply not only to new drone sales, but also to drones already in use, officials said.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/19/us-usa-drones-registry-idUSKCN0SD1YV20151019" target="_blank">Read more…</a></p>

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

When I first read this, I wondered what good it would do to register over a million drones. Those who intend to break the law would not register, or if they did, how would a drone be traced to them. They could put anyone's registration number on it, or none at all.

I don't think there is a way to deal with those who intentionally go about breaking the law, and there is no need to bother the honest ones with registration.

Maybe force drone manufacturers to put in a mandatory kill switch or a way for law enforcement to take over a offending drone. Hackers would likely circumvent this too.

 

[distant.star]

.
Here's one useful potential use -- getting the equipment back to a rightful owner if lost...

These things are incremental, and the development of technology has many models. In the teens and early twenties, radio was unregulated. People typically built a radio and just began broadcasting. It took some years, but regulation eventually gave us the orderly system we have today. In the early days of aircraft anyone could get into an aircraft and fly anywhere they wanted to or could. Eventually the regulators stepped in and provided the basis for the constipated system we have now. The 1975 movie, "The Great Waldo Pepper" tells the story of early regulation and resistance to it.

This will start with simple registration. Some people will do it, some won't. As the FAA suggests, the mere requirement will make it all seem more serious. Next they'll start searching for refinements. Perhaps they'll require drone makers to equip each unit with an identifiable squawker so their presence can be monitored -- and probably recorded. Even simple registration might help when one falls out of the sky onto your eight-year-old at the little league field and the the owner flees rather than taking responsibility.

Think about the future -- you'll one day be able to tell your grandchildren you were there at the dawn of the drone era when anyone could just lift off and let loose anywhere or any way they liked. Exciting times.​

 

[chromophore]

When I first read this, I wondered what good it would do to register over a million drones. Those who intend to break the law would not register, or if they did, how would a drone be traced to them. They could put anyone's registration number on it, or none at all.

I don't think there is a way to deal with those who intentionally go about breaking the law, and there is no need to bother the honest ones with registration.

Maybe force drone manufacturers to put in a mandatory kill switch or a way for law enforcement to take over a offending drone. Hackers would likely circumvent this too.

Regulation in general is not necessarily about preventing intentional criminal use; it is about enforcing rules that deter casual infringement.

For example, the issuance of drivers' licenses is not meant to ensure that there cannot be anyone who operates a motor vehicle on public roads without a license. People do it all the time. Yet there are very few people who are licensed that intentionally refuse to carry their license with them when they do drive. The general public recognizes that this is a necessary aspect of the privilege to drive; they recognize that it is to their collective benefit. It increases accountability. Similarly, the registration of motor vehicles is meant to ensure that people who own a vehicle are operating and maintaining it in accordance to legal requirements, but registration does not stop criminals from illegal operation of unregistered cars. The proposed registration of drones is in many ways similar to the registration of motor vehicles.

Can you hack a drone? Of course. But the bottom line is that the government sees a need to regulate drone operation because the collective drone-operating public has not demonstrated sufficient responsibility to make the risks (real or perceived) to the general public small enough to outweigh the bureaucratic costs of implementing a registration process. That it has taken them this long to act is saying quite a lot about how hands-off they have been until now.

 

[LDS]

Psss... I can sell you an unregistered drone... ;D

(at a far higher price, of course...)

 

[YuengLinger]

What's the difference between a task force and a committee?

 

[ahsanford]

What's the difference between a task force and a committee?

Task Forces generally have a specific job to accomplish.

Committees are groups of congressional blowhards who grill people at the center of a controversy in public hearings to score points with the public. :

I very well may be wrong with that distinction, but that's been our recent sort of split between groups that talk about things and groups that actually do things.

- A

 

[TeT]

What will be the Drone Registry Fee? Will it be yearly like your auto Registration?

 

[ahsanford]

In general, this had to be done. Will it stop misuse of these? Yes and no. Idiotic/inadvertent misuse will have the feedback loop of nasty fines, I'm sure, so they will tend to correct themselves. But deliberate misuse will still occur if someone is hell-bent on doing it.

But we have to declare something policy-wise on these things -- acknowledging that there is potentially dangerous new technology that is becoming more and more popular demands rules / guidelines and penalties for the obvious knuckleheaded things like flying near an emergency in progress, flying near airports, etc. Here in Cailfornia, we've had drones block/interrupt/threaten water-dropping aircraft during wildfires:

http://www.slrlounge.com/75000-reward-drone-operators-california-wildfires/

I'm still waiting for manufacturers to have to install proximity-based killswitches for the above scenarios, but baby steps are better than no steps at all, I guess.

- A

 

[meywd]

When I first read this, I wondered what good it would do to register over a million drones. Those who intend to break the law would not register, or if they did, how would a drone be traced to them. They could put anyone's registration number on it, or none at all.

I don't think there is a way to deal with those who intentionally go about breaking the law, and there is no need to bother the honest ones with registration.

Maybe force drone manufacturers to put in a mandatory kill switch or a way for law enforcement to take over a offending drone. Hackers would likely circumvent this too.

If each drone component has a serial number then it will be easy to track, and some serial numbers can be hardcoded in the chips, of course even these can be overridden with customs chips, but then again it will not be a normal purchase now, would it?

 

[tpatana]

If each drone component has a serial number then it will be easy to track, and some serial numbers can be hardcoded in the chips, of course even these can be overridden with customs chips, but then again it will not be a normal purchase now, would it?

No clue on drones but I would guess they each have MAC-address on the control traffic.

So officials should capture that when drone flies to no-fly zone. Then call the shop who sold said MAC and ask who bought that one. Get the address, send the SWAT team, break down the door, beat up the suspect, spoof the evidence, life without parole.

Ah, living the American dream.

 

[JonAustin]

As the great Ronaldus Maximus famously said, "If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

 

[Aglet]

Yup, give everyone access to some great tools/recreational toys and there will be a few idiots making trouble that will have deleterious effects for all users.

So now da man is comin after yer toys

This is a developing battle with UAVs of all kinds proving themselves capable of very good AND very bad things.


kill Big drones

http://www.gizmag.com/us-army-eads-anti-drone-system/39781/


disable small to mini drones

http://www.gizmag.com/anti-uav-defense-system-radio-beam-drones/39778/


portable drone killer

http://www.gizmag.com/battelles-dronedefender-beam-gun-uavs/39885/


find drones where they don't belong

http://www.gizmag.com/us-faa-drone-detection-airport/39775/

 

[Bennymiata]

Here in Oz, if the drone weighs over 6kg (about 12 lbs), the operator must be licensed and getting a drone operators certificate is almost as hard as getting a pilots license.
Smaller drones operate under the same laws as radio controlled aircraft, which means you can't fly them in streets or in parks, unless the park permits the flying of RC planes etc. and you must be 30m (100ft) from people, buildings etc. at all times.
However, lots of people use smaller drones not just for fun, but also for real estate photography.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

As the great Ronaldus Maximus famously said, "If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

Now that's a truism if ever there was one

 

[Tugela]

When I first read this, I wondered what good it would do to register over a million drones. Those who intend to break the law would not register, or if they did, how would a drone be traced to them. They could put anyone's registration number on it, or none at all.

I don't think there is a way to deal with those who intentionally go about breaking the law, and there is no need to bother the honest ones with registration.

Maybe force drone manufacturers to put in a mandatory kill switch or a way for law enforcement to take over a offending drone. Hackers would likely circumvent this too.

If each drone component has a serial number then it will be easy to track, and some serial numbers can be hardcoded in the chips, of course even these can be overridden with customs chips, but then again it will not be a normal purchase now, would it?

The way to do it would be to require all drones offered for sale to include a transponder that law enforcement can ping to determine its identity and whether or not it has been properly licensed. If a drone doesn't respond to a ping, then shoot it down.

If done properly it would be a fairly simple way to enforce the regulations.

 

[meywd]

If each drone component has a serial number then it will be easy to track, and some serial numbers can be hardcoded in the chips, of course even these can be overridden with customs chips, but then again it will not be a normal purchase now, would it?

No clue on drones but I would guess they each have MAC-address on the control traffic.

So officials should capture that when drone flies to no-fly zone. Then call the shop who sold said MAC and ask who bought that one. Get the address, send the SWAT team, break down the door, beat up the suspect, spoof the evidence, life without parole.

Ah, living the American dream.

Yeah, MAC-Addresses are unique so it can be done, but I am not sure every drone has an NIC.

 

[meywd]

When I first read this, I wondered what good it would do to register over a million drones. Those who intend to break the law would not register, or if they did, how would a drone be traced to them. They could put anyone's registration number on it, or none at all.

I don't think there is a way to deal with those who intentionally go about breaking the law, and there is no need to bother the honest ones with registration.

Maybe force drone manufacturers to put in a mandatory kill switch or a way for law enforcement to take over a offending drone. Hackers would likely circumvent this too.

If each drone component has a serial number then it will be easy to track, and some serial numbers can be hardcoded in the chips, of course even these can be overridden with customs chips, but then again it will not be a normal purchase now, would it?

The way to do it would be to require all drones offered for sale to include a transponder that law enforcement can ping to determine its identity and whether or not it has been properly licensed. If a drone doesn't respond to a ping, then shoot it down.

If done properly it would be a fairly simple way to enforce the regulations.

The same they do with airplanes, however that is not necessary, because if it poses a threat they will shoot it down anyway, since there is no humans on board and no political ramifications.

 

[Ozarker]

This is a local issue and should not be on the federal radar. I'm surprised at how many people support this.

Why is it on the radar?

Revenue, pure and simple. The feds will do it. Then the states.

Don't kid yourself into thinking they care about your safety. It is about the appearance of caring... and that justifies a new revenue stream.

I'm reminded of the 1970's when a license (Federal and issued by the FCC) was required to operate a citizen's band radio.

Local laws can be challenged when they are too restrictive of personal freedom. It takes years when the law is federal, if at all.

Don't surrender your freedom so easily.

35,000 people a year die in automobile accidents in the USA. 35,000! Nearly every car is registered at the state level.

How many have been killed by a personal drone?

The misuse of alcohol causes untold deaths and crime every year. It is regulated by federal, state, and local governments. Maybe the bottles ought to be registered. Maybe the bottles should have squawkers... that way the local police could keep a closer eye on the drinkers.

Maybe every car should be required to have a breathalyzer installed whether or not the operator drinks. Afterall, we'll all be safer that way.

If we could save just one person.... it is worth it. Forget about freedom and liberty. It's for the children, afterall.

Registration will not stop some idiot from flying a drone in restricted airspace.

 

[meywd]

I didn't read anyone express support, we are simply discussing the challenges of implementing it, I for one don't see the need, but I believe they are doing this for security reasons, like how drones are not allowed to fly above police stations, and how they are afraid of spying, so even if safety is one of the reasons it would be on the lower end of the list.