By Jack Nicas
The two biggest companies seeking to use drones for package
delivery say U.S. regulators have suddenly become more receptive to
their efforts, a potential boost to the chances of success for one
of the burgeoning technology's most promising commercial uses.
Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. say they have noticed the sharp
shift in attitude in recent weeks on critical issues such as drone
test flights.
In an apparent sign of the recent shift in attitude, the Federal
Aviation Administration plans on Wednesday to announce an
initiative to study drone flights beyond the sight of the operator,
according to a person familiar with the agency's plans. The agency
thus far has virtually banned such flights, including for research,
and proposed rules earlier this year that would prohibit them.
The drone industry views beyond-sight flights as key to
unlocking the commercial potential of drones, enabling everything
from pipeline inspections to deliveries. Drone companies have
criticized the FAA for its stance on such flights, and its
requirement that one human oversee each drone flight, which
prevents large-scale automated missions by a fleet of drones. The
policies have cast doubt on the chances that Amazon or Google could
deliver packages with drones in the U.S. in the next several
years.
"Honestly in the last two to three weeks, things have made a
dramatic change," Dave Vos, head of Google's delivery-drone
project, said Tuesday at a drone conference. "Three to four months
ago, we were a little bit concerned about how much progress we
could make here in the U.S., but...what we're seeing today is
significant opportunity to work here in the U.S. with the FAA."
"I don't know what triggered it," Mr. Vos later said in an
interview. "They're talking to us and we're collaborating."
Gur Kimchi, head of Amazon's delivery-drone project, similarly
said that the FAA had recently become more open to the company's
efforts to use automated drones to deliver packages within 10 miles
of a warehouse.
The FAA declined to comment.
The companies cautioned that discussions are still preliminary.
A federal official said it is virtually certain that the FAA won't
amend the drone rules it proposed in February to allow beyond-sight
flights before the long-awaited rules are finalized next year. That
is partly because any such change would require allowing public
comment, delaying them further.
Details of the FAA's planned announcement Wednesday on a
research initiative for beyond-sight drone flights weren't
immediately clear. The FAA currently allows a Boeing Co. subsidiary
and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to fly drones
beyond sight off the coast of Alaska and along U.S. borders,
respectively.
Those flights are allowed because air-traffic control manages
separation between the drones and manned aircraft. Amazon and
Google want their drones to fly virtually autonomously in busier
airspace, which will require sensors and software that enable the
devices to navigate environments on their own, sensing and avoiding
obstacles. Several companies say they are getting closer to
developing such technology.
Amazon's and Google's comments are part of larger embrace
between the FAA and the drone industry at industry conferences over
the past week, largely driven by the FAA rules proposal, which was
less restrictive than expected. The FAA also has accelerated
case-by-case approvals to fly drones commercially, issuing 188 such
approvals last month, compared with 59 in the previous seven
months.
At drone conferences last year, entrepreneurs sharply criticized
Jim Williams, the agency's top drone official, for the FAA's
effective ban on commercial drones. This year, drone proponents
have given Mr. Williams awards and asked to take selfies with
him.
Not all industry observers are convinced. Companies "still need
to look at what's not permitted" in the proposed rules, including
flights over people or at night, said Gregory McNeal, a Pepperdine
University law professor and co-founder of a drone-related mobile
app called Airmap. "If you tried to conduct drone journalism under
the rules as they're written, you won't be able to fly over people.
And most news stories are about people."
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