New Chinese Laws May Ground Drones
By Natallia Slimani
What’s that in the air? Is it a bird, is it a plane? Oh, it’s just a drone. Yes, the gadgets we used to look at with awe and bewilderment in Back to the Future are here, and they’re not even a cause for a traffic stop anymore.
We seem to be moving into an interesting time, when things once conceived as mere sci-fi are now here and airborne. The only question left to answer is this: what do we do with them?
From taking pictures inside erupting volcanoes to delivering Taobao packages, there is no shortage of ideas for what unmanned aerial vehicles can do. Things get a bit more complicated when we start figuring out what they can’t do – or rather, shouldn’t.
A wave of regulation bills has swept the globe for these intriguing, and sometimes intrusive, pieces of technology, with many a state in the US competing for the title of the one with the strictest laws. As this article is being written, drone owners in America have just been told they will need to have their UAVs registered by February 19 this year and ensure each one carries an assigned, unique identification number.
The general public is not staying out of the discussion either. With the recent case of an outraged property owner shooting down a drone, it’s clear that some are determined to have their voices heard – even if it is to the accompaniment of gunshots.
Let’s be honest: UAVs weren’t on their best behavior in 2015. All that crashing into the White House and upsetting airlines is sure to get you a bad name. Shenzhen is not in the headlines when it comes to drone faux-pas or the tough new rulings to prevent them – which, if you think about it, is quite surprising, as the city is home to some of the biggest drone manufacturers in the world.
But it’s not only the manufacturing that brings the city into the midst of the UAV debate. Take a walk in the park, attend an event worth photographing or simply have a good look out of your bedroom window – there is a strong chance you will see a drone leisurely flying by. The metropolis has embraced the hobby with wide-open skies, but where do people stand on what’s right and wrong?
“I don’t really see the point of regulating this thing,” says Mark Ho, engineer by day and an avid drone pilot by night. “I mean, a toy’s a toy,” he concludes.
Daniel MH Chun, a travel videographer and documentary director who uses his drone for professional photography and shooting film footage, believes that there is a line demarcating acceptable usage. “If a drone is flying by, I don’t care. But if the drone is set to survey my property… that’s another story,” he opines.
There are also those who are wholly against the trend. “I hate to imagine living in a city overrun by machines, whether on land or in the air,” say Marta Marishnikova, a fashion designer. “I think we need special areas where these things can fly – not just anywhere!”
Up till now, drone regulations in China have been on the vague side, with licenses only required for quadcopters weighing above 116 kilograms. For hobbyists flying lighter gadgetry, rules mostly took the form of suggestions: asking pilots to avoid built-up areas or flying close to airports.
However, stricter laws are on the way, according to statements from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Under the new restrictions, drones weighing over 25 kilograms will need to go through an “airworthiness certification” process before being allowed to operate, while all the actions performed by such devices will require a detailed flight plan submitted in advance.
Even tighter statutes are being put in place for the export of locally manufactured heavy-duty quads. This includes all devices that are capable of flying for longer than one hour or hovering above 15,420 meters, which will need official approval before being shipped.
The new regulations are coming in at a time when DJI – China’s biggest drone manufacturer, accounting for over 70 percent of the country’s civilian drones – has announced the release of an agricultural quadcopter that can be used for crop-dusting.
For smaller drones, though – those weighing below 25 kilograms – the skies are still looking fairly free. If your lightweight UAV does not go above 150 meters, it’s exempt from certification, though you will still need to register with the aviation authority.
How the recently announced edicts will be administered and controlled – and how the offenders will be punished – is still an open question, the answer to which may require quite a long wait.
While remaining relatively ambiguous, the issue of UAV guidelines still seems to have fallen into the ‘sensitive’ category. When approached for their views on the current and future legal status of drones, DJI declined to comment on the topic “until the policy is clear.”
With so much yet to be clarified, will drones find a way into our cities and become worthy airborne members of society, or are we heading towards a lengthy legal stand-off with no clear end in sight?
We spoke to Joseph Haagensen of ProDrone – another Shenzhen-based quad manufacturer – in hopes of shedding some light on the murky subject.
ProDrone, the company that makes Byrd – a foldable and portable drone with a whopping 29-minute battery life – has already caught the attention of major international online and printed publications, like Engadget, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic and others. What sets its product apart from others (and explains the media buzz) is portability. Byrd easily fits into a standard-sized bag and can be carried around anywhere.
“Nobody wants to walk around with a big, socially unacceptable bag that screams: ‘I have a drone and I’m going to film you,’” Haagensen explains. “That’s why we’ve gone the extra mile to create something different, fill the gap in the market.”
No stranger to media interest, Haagensen speaks with confidence and first-hand knowledge on the topic of proposed legislation. “We are actually moving away from ‘drone’ as a word,” Joseph mentions. “We believe ‘quadcopter’ is more suitable.
“Regulations are necessary,” he continues. “And I am sure we will arrive at the right solution. It’s just a transition period; we’ve been through the same with horses and cars. It will just take time.”
Haagensen claims that much of the bad news we read these days is simply exaggerated. “In reality, only 1 percent of quadcopters get in trouble,” he says, “while the remaining 99 percent are doing great things. People simply choose to spread the bad news.”
According to Haagensen, one of the big things quadcopter manufacturers can do to promote safety for pilots and the general public is providing information.
“These products are complicated – very often when people buy them, they simply don’t know how to use them. Lots of quad pilots don’t do a pre-flight check before sending the gadget into the sky or don’t know how to fly in strong wind.”
ProDrone is taking big steps to prevent UAV trouble in Shenzhen and the globe. It has and will continue to release detailed tutorials, helping hobbyists master its products and fly them safely.
Discussing the future of quadcopters in the city, Haagensen is convinced that the possibilities are endless.“In five to 10 years, quadcopters will fill the sky. And that’s a good thing, if the city is prepared,” he says.
And a city like Shenzhen definitely is. With more skyscrapers rising out of the ground and every new area featuring a more efficient layout, it seems like the young city is custom-made for the future.
“I can easily see quadcopters delivering packages, hopping from skyscraper to skyscraper to charge, and going on their way,” says Haagensen.
Leaving commercial convenience aside, delivering medicine to adventurers and explorers in far-out places or helping firefighters and rescue teams are also possibilities for the handy invention – in fact, they’re some of the most beguiling reasons for supporting UAVs.
With so much potential and a fair amount of controversy, it seems the drone is like any other rising star. Everything it does is under the microscope, with paparazzi lurking behind every corner trying to catch its worst moments and turn them into click-bait headlines.
So, what’s the quad to do? The answer is in the hands of pilots and corporations. If we want to see the future from a bird’s-eye view, look at our world at a different angle, facilitate rescue operations and get our packages from the sky, it requires sensible citizens provided with clear operational instructions.
Quadcopters come with the amazing potential to make cities more efficient, help those in need and bring that extra whiff of excitement into our lives. All it takes is watching a few tutorials and taking simple safety precautions.
[Images via ProDrone and Daniel Mh Chun]
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