Goods delivery by drones gets closer to reality, updated policy unveiled

In August, govt released the first version of drone policy.

Article Source BS : The government has proposed allowing delivery of goods by drones, paving the way for commercial applications in the field. In drone policy 2.0, unveiled on Tuesday, the government has proposed permitting their operations beyond the visual line of sight.

“Commercial UAS (unmanned aerial system) operations will foster various new forms of air freight capabilities, such as creation of supply chain relay networks for delivery of payload, transport of temperature-sensitive commodities like bodily organs, emergency or just-in-time deliveries of life-saving medicines or safe blood for transfusions and collection of patient specimens for delivery to laboratory for time-sensitive testing,” the document said. The updated version of drone policy was unveiled by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha at the Global Aviation Summit.

“There are opportunities for our aviation sector and for India's start-up industry as India is set to become a global leader as far as the drone ecosystem is concerned. It's important for us to have a policy road map and regulations that support the growth of the drone ecosystem,” Sinha said.

A person aware of the development said that delivery by drones was permitted after multiple food delivery companies such as Zomato and Swiggy had demanded it.

However, the proposal is a recommendation and a task force led by the civil aviation secretary and the director general of civil aviation finalise the guidelines. “The technical specifications and finer details will be finalised by the task force,” the person said.

E-commerce major Amazon has used a drone to deliver a bag of popcorn to an address in rural England in the first commercial outing for a technology that is the US group’s boldest step towards automating deliveries.

For the same purpose, the government intends to build ports where drones can land and take off.

“Droneports are proposed to be designated areas dedicated to facilitate take-off and landing of the drones. Licensing of such ports may be granted by the authorities concerned upon meeting the prescribed technical specification,” the document says.

In August, the ministry released the first version of drone policy, which makes it legal for individuals and companies to operate drones in certain areas other than those barred for security reasons. The ministry, however, held back approval of the commercial use of drones as taxis, delivery vehicles, and other services.

According to the regulations, there are five categories of drones by weight: Nano, micro, small, medium and large. For flying in controlled airspace, the filing of a flight plan and obtaining Air Defence Clearance (ADC)/Flight Information Centre (FIC) number will be necessary. The regulation defines “no-drone zones” as areas around airports, near the international border, Vijay Chowk in New Delhi, state secretariat complexes in state capitals, and strategic locations and vital military installations.

How viral bear video reveals dark side of filming animals with drones

When animals come into contact with drones, they may experience physiological changes such as an increased heart rate, behavioural responses such as running or flying away, or even suffer stress.

A recent online video took what seemed like an inspirational moment viral. The video, shot by Dmitry Kedrov using a drone, shows a baby bear climbing up and falling down the side of a mountain near Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk. After repeated efforts, the cub finally reaches the top, joining his mother and winning the hearts of viewers around the world. (Business Standard)

But after the initial enthusiasm for the video came some controversy when scientists pointed out that the incident may have been caused by the drone risking the cub’s life by interrupting its efforts to climb to safety. This prompted some online commenters to call for drones to be banned on grounds of environmental impact, while others defended the responsible use of this technology.

My colleagues and I have been researching the impact of drones on wildlife, and found that they pose very similar kinds of threats as other disturbances such as people, cars and conventional aircraft. This suggests that rules and guidelines that took animals into account would make a big difference to how much harm remotely and autonomously controlled aircraft could cause to wildlife through their noise and visual presence.

When animals come into contact with drones, they may experience physiological changes such as an increased heart rate, behavioural responses such as running or flying away, or even suffer stress that could disrupt their reproductive process. If they decide to avoid specific areas as a result of frequent disturbing drone encounters, this could fragment and ultimately damage the whole population.

Unfortunately, there is no reliable indicator that can give us an idea of the extent to which these flights are affecting wildlife. But this does not mean that there is no need to worry, because drone use is expected to increase in coming years.

Exactly how serious the threat from drones is depends on how often and how intensely they disturb the animals. If they are frequently disturbed, the animals will likely abandon the area, but they could also eventually become used to the drones. At worst, if drones fly too close to animals, collisions or attacks can cause wounds or death. Also, not all animal species nor individuals react to drones in the same way, and they may be more vulnerable in certain moments, such as breeding season, or in areas without protection or escape routes.... Read More