The newest addition to the Michigan State Police aviation unit is a high-tech remote-controlled helicopter, better known as a drone. Pilots have been training on it for almost a year and they hope to get Federal Aviation Administration approval in the next 30 days to use it across the state.
“We’re just waiting for the FAA to come and take a look at our program,” said 1st Lt. Chris Bush.
State Police want to use it for search and rescue missions, barricaded gunmen, even natural disaster damage assessments. But they aren’t the only ones who want eyes in the skies.
The drone industry is poised to boom in Michigan and around the world. Hobbyists, entrepreneurs and businesses are finding new ways to use a technology that seemed like science fiction just a few years ago.
Drone classes at Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City are full and teachers must update the curriculum every semester just to keep up with the newest technology.
But the technology continues to raise questions about air safety, privacy and security. And like the dawn of the automobile era, the age of unmanned aerial systems — as they are formally known — is evolving much faster than the laws.
In a much watched case in Virginia, the National Transportation Safety Board last week ruled that drones are indeed aircraft subject to federal regulation, overturning an earlier ruling from a judge.
Hobbyists who keep their drones within line of sight, under 400 feet and more than three miles from an airport are not regulated.
Federal, state and local government agencies, including universities, can get permission to fly them and others can get special permission for experiments and research. The FAA bans commercial use of drones, though it’s working on proposed rules to make that possible.
In Michigan now, Michigan State and Central Michigan universities and Northwest Michigan College are among those that have permission to use them.
State Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, proposed state-level regulation of drones almost two years ago, but the legislation hasn’t moved and the controversies show no signs of dying down.
McMillin said last week he still has privacy concerns and hopes the presence of the State Police drone will prompt more discussion.
Federal regulators insist that commercial drone use is illegal without permission. But that hasn’t stopped early adopters from launching:
■Real estate firms use drones to take aerial photos to market properties.
■Farmers use drone cameras to spot crops that need water, fertilizer and pest control.
■Utility companies use them to inspect wind turbines and power lines.
■Police agencies hope to use drones to help find lost people, photograph accident scenes, and conduct surveillance.
Economic impact
In 2015, Michigan can expect about $31 million in economic impact from drones, a figure that’s expected to triple by 2017, according to a study by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a non-profit industry group based in Arlington, Va.
About half of the estimated economic benefit comes from direct spending on manufacturing by small-scale Michigan companies, as well as sales and service of the aircraft. The rest comes from that money being recirculated through the economy, according to the study.
Nationwide, the industry is expected to grow from about $2.2 billion in 2015 to more than $10 billion by 2025 including more than 100,000 jobs, according to the study.
Harry Arnold of Detroit is one of the early adopters. In under a minute, he can pull a homemade helicopter from his van, set it on a launch pad and get the blades twirling using a book-sized remote control.
The aircraft, a quadcopter made from a couple hundred dollars worth of parts found in a local hobby shop, rises slowly and beams back a birdseye view to video screen on the ground.
“This is the dawn of a new type of transportation delivery systems,” said Arnold, who has been shooting drone videos for about five years now. “It’s kind of like if you had an automobile in 1901.”
Arnold has built a business combining two of his passions, remote controlled aircraft and photography. He’s done real estate and utility work, and even some personal use.
“I did a wedding at U of M stadium and I did one at Meadowbrook,” he said.
Arnold said operating drone cameras is his full-time job, and while he doesn’t deliberately confront regulators, he doesn’t pay much heed to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“They are just trying to keep the genie in a bottle,” he said.
Following the rules
The FAA certifies aircraft, pilots and even mechanics who work on them, to ensure safety, so it’s not a surprise it wants to regulate drones, especially for commercial use, said Stephen Tupper, the head of the aviation law section for the Michigan Bar.
“The FAA has had a very, very broad interpretation of what is commercial,” he said. “If you’re shooting a music video and there is a commercial purpose to it, they FAA is probably going to take the position that that is a commercial operation and that is covered.”
But Tupper said gray areas still exist. What happens if a hobbyist uses a drone to take aerial photos of his neighborhood and then a neighbor asks to buy one?
“Does it matter what you intended when you launched?” Tupper said. “Does it matter what you ultimately want to use it for?”
Those are questions that haven’t been answered definitively yet, Tupper said.
Demand for training
Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City offers three courses in unmanned aircraft systems, and they have been full, said director of aviation Aaron Cook.
Aviation students can take them as electives and students in the engineering technology program can take them as well.
“Technically, you cannot have a degree in unmanned aerial vehicles,” Cook said.
Cook said most of the students who study the systems end up working for contractors for the Department of Defense, which has been using drones for years to patrol hostile territory and hunt terrorists.
Cook said when most people think of drones, they imagine military vehicles used abroad to hunt terrorists. But as the technology has proliferated and become more inexpensive, all sorts of civilian uses have popped up.
He acknowledges that the technology is changing so quickly that systems being taught today could be obsolete in 12 to 18 months as they are replaced by newer systems. “Every semester we have to retool the program to stay current.”
Like automobiles, drones bring together a variety of technologies. Manufacturers are constantly working with foam and carbon fiber to reduce weight. New batteries let them fly longer. Computer systems create better controls and software processes the images they capture.
Police tread carefully
Michigan State Police last year used a Homeland Security grant to buy its $160,000 drone made by Aeryon Labs, a Canadian company that makes them for military, law enforcement and commercial operations.
The drone carries a high definition camera, can fly for about 50 minutes on a single battery charge, withstand wind-gusts of up to 40 mph. It has a range of several miles, though the current certificate of authorization requires pilots to keep it close enough to see from the ground.
But even shopping for one raises legal questions.
“I had to actually go to Canada to view Aeryon fly it,” said Bush, the commander of the field support and aviation section. “Even going to some conference, you can’t see them fly unless you know someone who’s got a training certificate of authorization.”
The FAA granted a certificate of authorization for State Police to use it for training purposes and is reviewing an application to use it in police work.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s office also is awaiting permission to fly a drone.
Last year, the county used $34,000 in drug forfeiture money to buy a star-shaped copter with six propellers made by Aerial Imagery Works of Troy. Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the process is painstaking slow, and already highly regulated.
The sheriff deputies who will fly must be certified pilots, Bouchard said.
He said concerns about surveillance are misguided, noting the aircraft can only fly for minutes at a time under 400 feet where pilots can see it from the ground.
“If we can see it, everyone can see it,” Bouchard said. “This is not a surveillance device, it’s an assessment device.”
One of the concerns raised by drone use is the collection of aerial video and what becomes of it.
“Data retention is a big thing,” Bush said. “We met with the ACLU to hear their concerns.”
Bush said the state is still working on policies, but it plans to treat aerial footage from the drone the same way it treats footage shoot from cameras mounted to the dashboard of patrol cars.
If the footage becomes necessary in a criminal case, it will be logged into evidence. Otherwise, the computer chips that hold it will be kept for a time, likely 30 days, and then recorded over.
“We want to make sure we do it right,” Bush said.
John Wisely is a reporter for the Detroit Free Press.
Hobby or commercial?
The Federal Aviation Administration regulates unmanned aerial aircraft, unless they are considered hobbies or recreational in nature.
Hobby or recreational uses include:
■Flying model aircraft.
■Taking drone photos for personal use.
■Surveying crops for watering and fertilizing needs when crops are for personal enjoyment.
Non-hobby or recreational uses include:
■Demonstrating aerobatics for pay.
■Photographing property for a fee.
■Surveying crops for a commercial farm.
Source: FAA.gov
- Source: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com
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