INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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Green light for first commercial drones in the US
Drones that
monitor crops, control mosquito populations and deliver defibrillators are to be tested in US airspace.Ten commercial drone projects have
been selected to try out new ways for unmanned aircraft to be integrated into the skies.They include Zipline, which currently offers a
blood-delivery service in Rwanda, and Apple.But Amazon, which wants to offer drone parcel deliveries, has not been chosen.The Federal
Aviation Authority has previously had extremely tight rules about the use of drones.A permit is needed to fly one, with beyond line-of-sight
flights and night-time flying banned.More than one million drones and 90,000 pilots are currently registered with the FAA.The UAS (Unmanned
Aircraft Systems) Integration Pilot Program is designed to tackle some of the challenges of integrating drones into national airspace,
particularly how to reduce risks to public safety.Phone maker Apple was among those chosen and will capture images of North Carolina by
drone, while Microsoft, Uber and Intel will all be involved in projects.According to Reuters, Amazon applied to deliver goods by drone to
shoppers in New York but was rejected
Similarly it said that DJI, the world's biggest non-military drone maker, made about a dozen applications but had none approved.The 10
chosen projects include:A government agency in Florida will use drones to help control mosquito populationsThe Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
will work on flying drones beyond a pilot's line of sight, in partnership with CNNNorth Carolina will work with Flytrex to test food
delivery servicesFedEx will work with Memphis County Airport Authority using drones for security and infrastructure and to deliver partsThe
City of Reno in Nevada will work with Flirtey on delivering medical suppliesThe 10 winners were picked from 149 proposals
Full details of each trial have not yet been released but each applicant will have around two-and-a-half years to run the trials, sharing
information with the FAA along the way."Data gathered from these pilot projects will form the basis of a new regulatory framework to safely
integrate drones into our national airspace," said US secretary of transportation, Elaine Chao
