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Drone Delivery One Step Closer to Reality with New FAA Rules

1/24/2021

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Amazon, Google's parent Alphabet, and UPS all hope to one day deliver large amounts of goods by drone. New US government rules have cleared some hurdles to make that dream a reality.

The Federal Aviation Administration finalized new rules for small, unmanned drones that could pave the way for expanded commercial uses of the vehicles, including delivery services.

For the first time, the FAA will allow small commercial drones to fly short distances over people and at night without a waiver. Small drones will also be permitted to fly over moving vehicles under limited conditions.

In a change from a previously proposed draft of the rules, drone operators must also have their remote pilot certificates on their persons and ready to be displayed if challenged by the authorities.

The rules apply to drone operators who use their unmanned aircraft for work or business under the FAA's Part 107 regulations. As many as 1.7 million drones have been registered with the FAA, as well as more than 203,000 drone pilots, the agency said. 

"The new rules make way for the further integration of drones into our airspace by addressing safety and security concerns," said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. "They get us closer to the day when we will more routinely see drone operations such as the delivery of packages."

The agency said it submitted the rule changes to the Federal Register and expects them to be published in January. The new regulations will take effect 60 days after publication.

The new rules mark a significant step forward by the US government toward a future of commercial drone deliveries, a vision outlined by Amazon as far back as 2013. Since then, the FAA's development of drone regulations has progressed in fits and starts, prompting critics to worry that other countries could pull ahead and gain a critical first-mover advantage in drone-based commerce. 

Industry advocates said there are still many steps ahead before that drone delivery can go mainstream in the US – such as opening up the rules to allow routine drone flights beyond an operator's visual line of sight. 
Those types of expanded operations "are critical to fully realizing the promise of [drone] technology to deliver innumerable economic and societal benefits," said the Small UAV Coalition, an industry advocacy group.
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Last year, UPS and Wing — a sister company to Google — became the first companies to gain FAA approval to operate a drone airline. In August, Amazon received the same approval certificate. Amazon has set a goal of completing drone deliveries within 30 minutes or less of an order being placed. 
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    Rick Richardson, CPA, CITP, CGMA

    Rick is the editor of the weekly newsletter, Technology This Week. You can subscribe to it by visiting the website.

    Rick is also the Managing Partner of Richardson Media & Technologies, LLC. Prior to forming his current company, he had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology.

    Mr. Richardson has been named to the "Technology 100"- the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America. He has also been honored by the American Institute of CPAs with two Lifetime Achievement awards and a Special Career Recognition Award for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology.

    In 2012, Rick was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. He has also been named to the 100 most influential individuals in the accounting profession in America by Accounting Today magazine.

    In 2017, Rick was inducted as a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achiever, a registry of professionals who have excelled in their fields for many years and achieved greatness in their industry.

    He is a sought after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators and students.

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