Calls for tough standards to regulate civil drones
The European Commission has proposed tough new standards to regulate the operation of civil drones, known as ‘remotely piloted aircraft systems’ (RPAS).
The new standards will cover safety, security, privacy, data protection, insurance, and liability. EU standards will be based on the principle that civil drones must provide an equivalent level of safety to ‘manned’ aviation operations. Data collected by remotely piloted aircraft, must comply with the applicable data protection rules and data protection authorities must monitor the subsequent collection and processing of personal data.
Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for Mobility and Transport, said: “Civil drones can check for damage on road and rail bridges, monitor natural disasters such as flooding and spray crops with pinpoint accuracy. They come in all shapes and sizes. In the future they may even deliver books from your favourite online retailer. But many people, including myself, have concerns about the safety, security and privacy issues relating to these devices.”
The technology for civil drones is maturing and there is potential for significant growth and job creation. Some estimates value it at 10% of the aviation market in the next ten years, the equivalent of €15bn per year. Kallas added: “We have an opportunity now to make a single set of rules that everyone can work with, just like we do for larger aircraft.”
The new standards will cover streamlining R&D and supporting new industry. The Commission will streamline R&D work, in particular the EU R&D funds managed by the SESAR Joint Undertaking to keep lead times for promising technologies for the insertion of RPAS into the European airspace as short as possible. SMEs and start-ups in the sector will get industrial support to develop appropriate technologies under the Horizon 2020 and COSME programmes.
